Packing OK levels score with Pure Champion

Report: Hong Kong, Saturday

Sha Tin: Centenary Vase(Group 3 h'cap) 1m1f, turf

PACKING OK (John Moore/Darren Beadman) squared the big-race ledger with Pure Champion by capturing the Centenary Vase at Sha Tin on Saturday.

The leading pair filled the same places but in reverse order last time out in the Group 3 January Cup at Happy Valley.

On this occasion the Australian import Packing OK made the most of a 5lb turnaround at the weights to record a half-length victory from the five-year-old who previously raced as Steinbeck for Aidan O'Brien.

A sparse field of just seven runners faced the starter and whether the leading pair will eventually develop into genuine Group 1 performers is open to question.

Nevertheless, Moore indicated the winner will probably head for the Citibank Hong Kong Gold Cup over a furlong extra in just over two weeks.

"He will run in the Gold Cup if [owners] the Lee family give me the green light," he said. "He is probably two or three lengths off being a Group 1 horse, but trainers are often wrong and I have been wrong before - he will probably take his chance."

Victorious jockey Beadman added: "He has always shown a lot of promise. From the first day he arrived here he always gave the feeling that he would be a Group horse. He might develop into a better-classstayer next season as he gets stronger."

In the past this race has occasionally provided clues about Derby aspirants, but the only Classic contender on view here was Beauty Lead, formerly Glaswegian when trained by Pascal Bary tofinish in midfield in both last year's French 2,000 Guineas and Derby.

Held up a good distance off the steady pace, the lightly weighted Beauty Lead never really threatened to land a blow and trailed the winner home by three and a half lengths.

Go Baby Go (Dennis Yip/Douglas Whyte) stretched his unbeaten record to three when winning the day's other feature, the Class 3 Yan Oi Tong Cup down the straight 5f track.

The Australian-bred four-year-old is the best newcomer to the sprint ranks so far this season and here was the first sign of his appetite for a scrap as he was tested by the second favourite Ultimate Winners inside the final furlong.

Carrying top-weight and conceding 19lb to the useful runner-up, Go Baby Go heeded the reminders offered him by Whyte to professionally pull clear for a length-and-a-quarter margin at the line and on this evidence could again be hard to stop when he resurfaces in Class 2.

Another rapidly climbing the ladder is the British import Bullish Champion (Tony Cruz/Matt Chadwick), the erstwhile Crown Prosecutor when trained by Brian Meehan tofinish second in the Gimcrack Stakes two years ago.

Bullish Champion impressively accounted for a strong field by making most of the running in the Class 1 Crocus Handicap over 7f to further advertise the credentials of Glorious Days,his conqueror last time in the Chinese New Year Cup.

The day, however, will be remembered mostly for the ‘lucky' escapes by jockeys in the first and last races.

There had not been a single fall in nearly 400 races of the current season before Brett Prebble appeared to clip heels on Telecom Top Star at the top of the straight and hit the turf with a broken collarbone the result.

Much worse was to follow in the final event when apprentice Vincent Ho took a sickening spill on Gurus Dream and was rag-dolled under his own mount and caught by the hooves of pursuing rivals.

Many would have feared the worst for the young rider, but he incredibly entered the ambulance conscious. Initial reports suggested a broken arm.