Speed Dragon leads New Zealand-bred double at Sha Tin
New Zealand-bred gallopers Speed Dragon (NZ) (Darci Brahma) and Pejibaye (NZ) (Per Incanto) made their mark at Sha Tin on Sunday, with the former claiming Group Three honours and the latter producing a record-breaking performance on the all-weather track.
Speed Dragon provided the highlight when storming home to win the HK$4.2 million Gr.3 Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse Handicap (1800m), adding another feature success to the record of New Zealand-bred horses in Hong Kong.
Bred by The Oaks Stud, the son of Darci Brahma and Keenly began his racing career in New Zealand under the name Keenasabean, winning at Te Rapa for Cambridge trainer Tony Pike before being sold to Hong Kong.
Now prepared by Francis Lui, the gelding produced a powerful finishing burst under Jerry Chau to defeat Gentleman Legacy by a neck, with Massive Sovereign another length away in third.
Chau rode patiently behind a moderate tempo before angling Speed Dragon into clear running in the straight, where he unleashed a final 400m sectional of 22.60 seconds to claim victory in 1:47.84.
“My first time riding him today. I trialled him in trackwork and he gave me a very good feeling,” Chau said.
“He’s very mature and he does what he wants and he teaches me how to do it. As you can see in the race, he just led me into the race and he gave me a very good finish. So, I’m very proud of him.”
The victory continued an outstanding season for Chau, who has ridden 17 winners and remains in contention for a berth in next month's International Jockeys’ Championship at Happy Valley.
Speed Dragon has now won four races over 1800m, with Lui indicating the Gr.3 January Cup Handicap (1800m) at Happy Valley on January 13 could be his next major target.
Earlier on the programme, fellow New Zealand-bred Pejibaye made a spectacular return from knee surgery with a four-and-a-half-length victory in the Class 4 Grace One Handicap (1200m) on the Sha Tin dirt.
The son of Little Avondale Stud stallion Per Incanto and Irish Cream had undergone arthroscopic surgery on both knees in July, but showed no signs of discomfort as he dominated his rivals from the front.
Ridden by Ellis Wong for trainer Caspar Fownes, Pejibaye stopped the clock at 1:07.66, smashing the previous Class 4 course record of 1:08.14 established by Happy Tour in 2018.
Pejibaye was purchased for $320,000 by Jamie Richards Racing and Andrew Williams Bloodstock at the 2023 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale at Karaka. He subsequently won a barrier trial at Pukekohe in April 2024 for trainer Paul Richards before being exported to Hong Kong.
Fownes was delighted with the performance and praised the veterinary team responsible for the gelding's recovery.
“I have to thank the Jockey Club vets for the great job on his knee surgery during the summer break,” Fownes said.
“He's a lot more comfortable; we always felt that this horse had ability. He has come back and been very, very impressive.”
Fownes is now looking forward to testing Pejibaye in Class 3 company, confident the gelding has further improvement to come.
