Latest news with #Wunderbar
South China Morning Post
28-06-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Beauty Waves salutes in stable debut for Tony Cruz: ‘I'm so happy this horse came over'
Talented sprinter Beauty Waves made the perfect start to life with new trainer Tony Cruz, banking a tough win in Saturday's Class One Pearce Memorial Challenge Cup (1,000m) at Sha Tin. Recently transferred to Cruz after four wins for Pierre Ng Pang-chi, the Irish import enhanced his reputation as a straight-track specialist when he proved too slick for strong opposition in Saturday's feature. Backed from $6.9 to $3.7 late, Beauty Waves was sent forward by Alexis Badel to race on the speed and fought on gamely to beat $3.5 favourite Wunderbar by half a length. 'I was expecting him to run a big race,' Cruz said of the five-year-old, who won the Group Three National Day Sprint (1,000m) for Ng and Badel in October. Beauty Waves is a winner again! The Starspangledbanner speedster defeats Wunderbar in the Class 1 Pearce Memorial Challenge Cup for @AlexisBadel and Tony Cruz at Sha Tin... 🏆 @Beautystablehk #SummerSeries | #HKracing — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) June 28, 2025 'I wasn't really confident about the horse winning the race, but he showed today he's got some ability and I believe I can get better results. I believe he can win more races. 'I'm so happy this horse came over [to my stable]. I liked this horse from the very beginning - I've been watching him in the past. He's always a real speedy horse, like he showed today, and he won in good time. I believe he's a 1,000m horse.' Wunderbar launched a late challenge in the centre of the track but ultimately came up short, while Magic Control was beaten a length and a quarter in third. Cruz said Beauty Waves would be aimed at 1,000m features next season, while Badel was over the moon to hop back aboard the son of Starspangledbanner. HK Racing News Get updates direct to your inbox Sign up Best Bets Racing News By registering you agree to our T&Cs & Privacy Policy Error: Please enter a valid email. The email address is already in use. Please login to subscribe. Error, please try again later. THANK YOU You are one the list. Jockey Alexis Badel and trainer Tony Cruz after Beauty Waves' win. 'It's good to be back on him. I'm grateful that Tony gave me the ride and he's a talented horse and it was just a nice win,' the French jockey said. 'I'm doing the best I can to give my horses every chance and today it was good to win in such a good race.' Beauty Waves capped a Sha Tin double for Cruz after his Australian import Gentlemen Legacy broke through at his fourth local start, claiming the Class Three Nam Chung River Handicap (2,000m) under Zac Purton.
South China Morning Post
27-06-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
John Size hoping for a wonderful Sha Tin Saturday with Wunderbar and Stellar Express
John Size saddles up Wunderbar and Stellar Express as he looks to claim Sha Tin's Saturday feature, the Class One Pearce Memorial Challenge Cup (1,000m). The 12-time champion trainer, who heads into Saturday with a commanding nine-win lead over nearest rival David Hayes in this season's premiership, will be chiefly relying on his winning machine Wunderbar to extend his buffer. The Rich Enuff galloper won four of his five starts as a three-year-old and kicked off this campaign with a pair of victories to bring his tally to six wins from seven, before his form levelled off following those tough performances. Following a four-month break, Wunderbar stepped forward from a fairly promising reappearance by cruising past his rivals under Hugh Bowman to win the Class Two Business School And Faculty Of Engineering Handicap (1,200m) at Sha Tin two weeks ago, improving his record to seven wins from 12 starts. Back in business! 😤 John Size's Wunderbar, the only horse to defeat Ka Ying Rising (not once but twice), takes the Class 2 feature at Sha Tin with @HugeBowman ahead of stablemate Raging Blizzard... #SummerSeries | #HKracing — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) June 14, 2025 The last time Wunderbar ran over the 1,000m trip, he was pinched late by a reopposing Magic Control, but he was a dual winner over the course and distance in 2023 and Size has no concerns about his credentials. 'He seems fine, he's in pretty good shape. He's done well after the race. He looks in good order,' said Size. 'I think coming back in distance for this particular race, it looks extremely competitive and there are quite a few horses there that are suited by the straight 1,000m. He'll run well but it's a good competition. 'He can handle the straight 1,000m all right. He ran second this season there. It was a good run. He runs in a straight line pretty well.' HK Racing News Get updates direct to your inbox Sign up Best Bets Racing News By registering you agree to our T&Cs & Privacy Policy Error: Please enter a valid email. The email address is already in use. Please login to subscribe. Error, please try again later. THANK YOU You are one the list. 1⃣,6⃣0⃣0⃣ HONG KONG WINS FOR JOHN SIZE! 👏 Stellar Express brings up a major milestone for our 12-time champion trainer, who becomes the second in history to reach the mark... 🍾 @brentonavdulla @WorldPool | #TripleCrown | #HKracing — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) May 25, 2025 Brenton Avdulla will return to the plate with Bowman serving a ban, meaning the Stellar Express ride has been freed up for Andrea Atzeni. The five-year-old was a winner under Avdulla at Sha Tin two starts ago, blazing up the rails to go from pillar to post in the Class Three Indigenous Handicap (1,000m) and double his tally over the track and distance. He had excuses over 1,200m at Happy Valley on his most recent start, trailing in last of 12 after using plenty of petrol to cross to the front over a distance that does not play to his strengths. The Zoustar galloper is likely to be gunned to the front once more to play catch me if you can. Elsewhere in the race, Magic Control will bid to defy top weight and confirm the placings of his earlier encounter with likely short-price favourite Wunderbar. That's impressive, Magic Control! 🪄 Cody Mo's talented chestnut, formerly known as Archo Nacho in Australia, denies Wunderbar down the straight at Sha Tin under @mattLchadwixk... 🌟#LoveRacing | #HKracing — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) November 9, 2024 The Cody Mo Wai-kit-trained four-year-old has struggled in Group company in his recent starts, but he will benefit from the step down in grade and the 5lb claim of the in-form Ellis Wong Chi-wang. The red-hot 24-year-old jockey has ridden 12 winners since the start of April, losing his 7lb claim in the process. Another jockey to hit top stride in recent weeks is Keagan de Melo, who partners Red Elegance for trainer Douglas Whyte. Fresh off his first Hong Kong Group win aboard Copartner Prance in the Group Three Premier Cup (1,400m), the South African will hope to galvanise the five-year-old back to winning ways. A two-time winner over the course and distance from his past three starts, he fell short in his hat-trick bid when trying the same distance at Happy Valley at the end of April.
New Paper
15-06-2025
- Sport
- New Paper
Wunderbar gives Size push-up
HONG KONG - Famed as the only horse to have beaten champion sprinter Ka Ying Rising, Wunderbar catapulted John Size closer to a record-extending 13th Hong Kong trainers' championship with a devastating return to form at Sha Tin on June 14. Twice victorious over Ka Ying Rising in the pair's three-year-old season, Wunderbar had bone fragments removed from a knee in January, 2024 - a day after his second triumph over the horse now acclaimed as the world's highest-rated sprinter - and has endured a rollercoaster since. As Ka Ying Rising advanced to a perfect eight-win 2024-25 season while claiming four Group 1s, Wunderbar has taken a less celebrated path. He notched a pair of early season wins before finishing out of the placings at his past three runs. Ridden conservatively by Hugh Bowman in the HK$2.84 million (S$463,000) Class 2 HKU Business School And Faculty Of Engineering Handicap (1,200m), the chestnut showed his quality after settling midfield in the 11-horse field behind Bottomuptogether. He then swept through a gap in the straight to down stablemate Raging Blizzard and Harmony N Blessed in 1min 8.12sec. The gelding's seventh victory in 12 starts propelled Size to 63 wins for the season, nine clear of David Hayes (54) with only eight meetings left, and presented more evidence of the master horseman's elite craftmanship. "He's been over-racing a little bit and I gave him a break and that didn't work, so I had to do something else. Then he had a couple of trials and was fine," said Size. "He didn't race for four months last time fresh and this time he was perfect - right tempo and everything went well for him." Bowman was also impressed with Wunderbar's performance, saying: "He was great. He had a bit in his favour. He had a track bias - the fence was like gold - he had barrier one, he's obviously got abundant natural pace and he got the conditions to suit today. "He was able to settle mid-race and provide the finish which he'd been lacking. He won with authority. Full credit to him." Ellis Wong's allowance will be reduced from 7lb (3.2kg) to 5lb after the apprentice's double. Wong, 24, scored with Pierre Ng's first starter Aerovolanic in the Class 4 HKU Heritage Handicap (1,200m) before a perfect ride on the Caspar Fownes-trained Joy Of Sprint in the Class 3 HKU Foundation Handicap (1,800m). With 10 wins from the start of May, Wong took his Hong Kong career total past 45 victories, triggering a drop in his allowance. "It's good for Ellis. He becomes a five-pound claimer next week, we wish him all the best," said Fownes. "He's riding really well. Hopefully my trainer friends will give him some more support." The battle for the Tony Cruz Award for leading homegrown jockey narrowed after Matthew Chadwick posted his 32nd win of the season. He trails Matthew Poon (36 wins), after scoring aboard Chris So's Hinokami Kagura in the Class 4 HKU Faculties Of Dentistry And Social Sciences Handicap (1,200m, dirt). The Jamie Richards-trained The All Out remains unbeaten after a second Griffin 1,000m win in the opener. Ridden by Zac Purton, the Brutal two-year-old clocked a sizzling 55.84sec with a strong trailing breeze after starting from barrier 2. "He was good because it's very hard to win from that side of the track," said Purton. "He did a really good job to be working the whole way to some extent and then hold them off." Brutal completed a double when the David Eustace-trained Truly Fluke charged late to clinch the second section of the Class 4 University Hall Handicap (1,400m) under Andrea Atzeni. "He's a beautiful horse and we took a punt today to go forward from a wide gate (barrier 13)," said Eustace. "I just felt if we went back, he'd probably run well without being a chance of winning. "He got a beautiful ride and he's a nice horse for next season. I'd like to think he'll work his way through the grades a little bit. "Obviously, it's hard to know how far they get, but he'll stay a mile no problem and probably doesn't need to go further than that at this stage." Tearaway leader Purton bookended the meeting with an easy win on Manfred Man's Patch Of Stars in the Class 4 Hong Kong Jockey Club Scholarships Handicap (1,400m). Atzeni also won two races with a brilliant ride on Mojave Desert, who claimed a PP (Private Purchase) Bonus of HK$1.5 million by winning the Class 3 HKU Jockey Club Student Villages Handicap (1,200m, dirt) for Mark Newnham. Also scoring a double was trainer Tony Cruz with Smart Beauty and Kingly Demeanor. Smart Beauty notched his fifth win by clinching the Class 5 race (1,600m) under Angus Chung, before Kingly Demeanor led all the way under Keith Yeung to win the Class 4 (1,800m). Reigning champion trainer Francis Lui was not left out of the scoresheet, with Harold Win taking the Class 4 (1,400m) under Jerry Chau. HKJC
South China Morning Post
14-06-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Wunderbar bounces back to top form with slashing Class Two win at Sha Tin
Hugh Bowman guides Wunderbar to his first victory since October. Photos: Kenneth Chan Known as the only horse to have beaten superstar Ka Ying Rising, talented sprinter Wunderbar bounced back from a string of out-of-character defeats with a stylish win at Sha Tin on Saturday night. Beaten on his previous four starts after starting his career in a blaze of glory, the John Size-trained gelding saluted for punters who crunched him late from $7 to $3.5 favouritism in the Class Two HKU Business School And Faculty Of Engineering Handicap (1,200m). Hugh Bowman settled Wunderbar three-back on the fence from gate one and he relished a frenetic speed set by $4.7 chance Bottomuptogether, who scorched forward early from gate 10 to win a fierce battle for the lead. While Wunderbar was briefly held up early in the straight, the Rich Enuff gelding was hooked off the fence by Bowman and powered through a gap between rivals to launch his run. He soared past Bottomuptogether approaching the 100m and drew clear, beating Raging Blizzard by three-quarters of a length in a quinella result for championship leader Size. Harmony N Blessed ran third. Back in business! 😤 John Size's Wunderbar, the only horse to defeat Ka Ying Rising (not once but twice), takes the Class 2 feature at Sha Tin with @HugeBowman ahead of stablemate Raging Blizzard... #SummerSeries | #HKracing — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) June 14, 2025 Wunderbar narrowly beat Ka Ying Rising in back-to-back starts at the end of last season and extended his winning streak with a pair of victories to start his latest campaign. However, his hot form came to a halt and forced Size to give him a mid-season break, with the four-year-old improving off his last-start eighth to Lady's Choice. 'He's been overracing a little bit and I gave him a break and that didn't work, so I had to do something else,' said Size. HK Racing News Get updates direct to your inbox Sign up Best Bets Racing News By registering you agree to our T&Cs & Privacy Policy Error: Please enter a valid email. The email address is already in use. Please login to subscribe. Error, please try again later. THANK YOU You are one the list. 'Then he had a couple of trials and was fine. He didn't race for four months last time fresh and this time he was perfect - right tempo and everything went well for him. 'He had a little bit of an interruption in his good form, so at this moment I'm not really reaching for anything else.' Jockey Hugh Bowman, trainer John Size (second from right) and owner Andrew Li Kwok-nang after Wunderbar's win. Bowman was ecstatic to deliver the goods in his first race ride on Wunderbar. 'He was great. He had a bit in his favour. He had a track bias – the fence was like gold – he had barrier one, he's obviously got abundant natural pace and he got the conditions to suit today,' Bowman said. 'He was able to settle mid-race and he was able to provide the finish which he'd been lacking. It's Class Two and they don't give them away and he won with authority. Full credit to him.' Wunderbar's seventh career success helped Size extend his championship lead over David Hayes to nine wins with eight meetings left this term. Zac Purton and The All Out return to the winners' enclosure. Elsewhere at the twilight meeting, Zac Purton booted home a double on a pair of promising young gallopers – two-year-old The All Out, who maintained his unbeaten record at start two for Jamie Richards, and three-year-old Patch Of Stars, who notched a hat-trick with an explosive triumph for trainer Manfred Man Ka-leung. Andrea Atzeni joined Purton with a brace after winning on the David Eustace-trained Truly Fluke and Mark Newnham's Mojave Desert. Tony Cruz took home training honours with a double after Angus Chung Yik-lai guided Smart Beauty to victory and Kingly Demeanor scored under Keith Yeung Ming-lun.
The National
24-05-2025
- Sport
- The National
Carter-Vickers reveals story behind '119' darts banner
After Celtic won the Premier Sports Cup in December by beating Rangers on penalties, some members of the squad travelled down south to take in the World Championships at the Alexandra Palace. The likes of Welsh, Liam Scales, Greg Taylor, Arne Engels and Carter-Vickers were all pictured in attendance. Read more: Indeed, a photo of the latter holding a banner that read '119' went viral on social media at the time. 119 was, of course, a nod to Celtic securing 119 trophies by beating Rangers and moving one ahead of their fierce city rivals in the silverware count. "I didn't actually write it, it was written by Stephen Welsh, I was thrown under the bus," said Carter-Vickers. "I was the stupid one to pick it up and hold it up. "I think this year I'd better [watch] how much I drink, make sure there's no more pictures or videos. "To be honest, I think when you do win something, you have to enjoy it with the team and the people that you've done it with, because that's one of the reasons we do it, so you have moments like that that you can create memories that will last with you." When Celtic won the league title last season, a video of Carter-Vickers in Glasgow's Wunderbar gained traction online. He exclaimed, 'Unlucky Rangers, three-in-a-row!', recreating Aiden McGeady's famous clip from 2008. The American will be fully focused on trying to win a treble today as Celtic face Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup final at Hampden.
