Moreira refusing to give up on wayward Pakistan Star

Joao Moreira still believes in Pakistan Star and has pledged to do all he can to help trainer Tony Cruz, with the pair seeking to avoid a repeat performance of the four-year-old's antics in a Group 3 last weekend.

Pakistan Star has achieved internet notoriety for his running style, coming from last to first with a sensational burst of pace, but on Sunday at Sha Tin he made headlines for all the wrong reasons when refusing to race.

However, Moreira thinks Pakistan Star could still possess the most ability in Hong Kong, and said on Tuesday: "I'm not giving up on him, he is too good a horse. Sure, he has been a horse who has found plenty of excuses, but the day he does everything properly, he will just win – he might be the most talented horse in Hong Kong."

Reflecting on why Pakistan Star failed to participate on Sunday, Moreira added: "I've been trying to think about why he did what he did and I just can't tell you. Maybe he was just in a bad mood on the day.

"Whatever the case, he didn’t want to race. He looked at the other horses and said, 'nope, you can’t force me to, I don't want to' and that was that."

A break could be the first prescribed course of action for Pakistan Star, as Moreira said: "At this stage he just needs to be put away and let him forget about what happened."

Cruz did not give specifics on how they will try to remedy Pakistan Star's errant behaviour, adding: "We will get him right.

"What I will say is that it was crucial that Joao got him moving again and made him finish the race. Had he not done that I think the horse would have done it every start.

"The horse does have history of doing this type of thing, he didn’t want to gallop at the breeze-ups before the Hong Kong International Sale. So we’ve got some work to do, but we will make sure it doesn’t happen again."