[CSC]

Originally Posted by my miss storm cat

I'm thinking Dr. Ho might agree with you...

Excerpt, SCMP...

Viva Pataca's owner, Stanley Ho Hung-sun, seemed disappointed with finishing second, but jockey Darren Beadman told him to be proud of Hong Kong's representative in his first foray on foreign soil.

"Dr Ho, that was a tremendous run, he's done you proud," Beadman said. "I really have no excuses. He crossed nicely from the wide barrier, there was a lot of speed on and he had cover all the way.

"We moved into the race nicely, always having cover and when I produced him to the outside he quickened up beautifully."

Beadman said that as the field charged to the championship furlong, the final 200 metres, he thought Viva Pataca would emulate Vengeance Of Rain, who lifted the Sheema Classic last year off a much slower tempo.

"He came to win the race but just peaked on his run," Beadman said. "The filly had a much easier run and she's drawn away from us in the final stages. I think she must be a pretty good filly, by the same token," the jockey added.

Trainer John Moore was pleased his four-time Group One winner had performed creditably, but admitted feeling a little empty after beating all but the Mike de Kock-trained four-year-old.

"You know me, I don't like running second, you don't come all this way with the goal of running second - I want to win," Moore said.

"But realistically, he's run a great race and reflected great credit on himself, on everyone associated with him, and on Hong Kong racing.

"In the end, the winner has received two kilos from us and had a much better barrier. The weight and the barrier has probably made the difference," the trainer added.

Cheers to the Fab Four from HK.

I agree to all the above, except my initial reaction after viewing the race a couple of times is Darren moved a little early on the horse which might have been precipitated by being too far back in the early stages of the race. I didn't have the benefit of having access to a head on but he looked to be covering a bit of ground turning into the straight. Saying that he still probably wouldn't have caught the filly, she is a deserved winner. But it did look like Viva hung just a little inside the 200, when you consider those factors it makes sense. What do you think?