3 minute read

John Moore says he is confident that Beauty Generation will head to Meydan for the Dubai Turf next month.

However history relates that it seldom pays to take things for granted when it comes to Hong Kong stars making foreign trips.

And logic suggests that Hong Kong's most famous horse will need to up his game if last year's winner Almond Eye and various other stars turn up at their best.

The ever-quotable Moore summed up Beauty Generation's third consecutive Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup win by saying "the public have got their champ back".

A torrent of late support from a public confined to barracks to minimise the risk of coronavirus sent the dual Horse of the Year off at 1.6, but Beauty Generation was no more than functional in victory, driven out firmly by Zac Purton to master the Jamie Spencer-ridden Ka Ying Star by half a length as champion sprinter Beat The Clock faded into an unusually dull fifth.

Purton concedes that Beauty Generation has lost a little of his old killer instinct once he hits the front, but Moore feels his veteran will be "very, very competitive" if allowed to bowl along over 1800m in Dubai.

Hong Kong's most successful handler is planning "a long Australian lunch" if his star miler makes the trip, and his exciting young sprinter Aethero could also be on the Meydan menu for the Al Quoz Sprint if he comes through a prep race at Sha Tin on March 8.