Who’s the prettiest of them all?
December 14, 2010
Snow Fairy lit up the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International race series at Sha Tin this weekend when taking the Hong Kong Cup from the locally trained pair, Irian and Packing Winner.
Ryan Moore’s mount, in the 10f event, looked to have an awful lot to do when rounding the home turn. Yet she displayed the same devastating turn of foot which so comprehensively hammered the opposition last time out in Kyoto when she took the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup there in November. Having won a pair of Oaks at Epsom and the Curragh in the summer she has now won over 12f, 11f and 10f at the highest level. This weekend’s victory was the seventh run of the year for her having begun in May at Goodwood. Great credit goes to Ed Dunlop for keeping her on the go for so long. Is she the best middle distance turf performer of 2010?
Four Group 1’s in the bag make for a very strong argument having also beaten the boys in this latest encounter.
But then of course there is another filly that may have claims to the title.
This filly began the year with a Group 2 victory over 11f in the Kyoto Kinen Stakes in February and then ran second in the Sheema Classic to John Gosden’s Dar Re Mi, another filly incidentally. In May she took the Group 1 Victoria Mile at Tokyo and before finishing second in the Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin in June. After a four month break she returned to Tokyo to take the Group 1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) over10f and was then disqualified in the Japan Cup where clearly she was the best horse.
Yes, Buena Vista may well have something to say about who is the best middle distance turf performer of 2010.
It’s not over yet of course as she is due to run in the Arima Kinen on the 26th of December where she will match Snow Fairy’s number of runs of the year. She will again take on Rose Kingdom, the beneficiary of her Japan Cup disqualification. The Arima Kinen is one of the two “All Star” races in Japan. A win here for the four year old would see her collect a third Group 1 this year leaving her one behind Snow Fairy. That second in the Takarazuka Kinen, the other “All Star” race was to Nakayama Festa who then went to Europe to contest the Prix Foy en route to a head second to Workforce in the Prix De L’Arc De Triomphe. When you consider the two seconds at top level, in the Sheema Classic and the Takarazuka Kinen and throw in the Japan Cup run, you have to say she has at least matched Snow Fairy’s achievements.
Ryan Moore described Snow Fairy as a machine while Christophe Soumillon has compared Buena Vista with Zarkava. Maybe a girl’s night out in March for the Dubai World Cup will decide who’s the prettiest of them all. Someone should ask Goldikova to the dance. Wouldn’t that be lovely? Off course it won’t be on turf and tapeta may tame them all.
Then there’s the boy’s. John Gosden’s Arlington Million winner, Debussy may try to spoil the chick’s party. Even after the Tenno Sho and the Hong Cup Cup I still think the Million is the best 10f this year. If only Summit Surge, entered in both races, had made it east. Then we’d know.
