Fortune President got home in a thriller for trainer Me Tsui at Happy Valley on Wednesday and he’s not the only handler with skin in the game as the 4yo chestnut lays the groundwork for a higher mile-ranking in Hong Kong.
Lark Hill-based trainer Darren McAuliffe and his Impressive Racing partner Kevin Berry own his dam I’m Your Venus and they’re suitably impressed after buying her for $9,500 at the Inglis May 2020 Digital Sale.
The Impressive Racing team were already on a high after Beauty Joy’s gallant second to reigning HKJC Horse of the Year Golden Sixty (Medaglia d’Oro) in the Group 1 Champions Mile at Sha Tin on Sunday.
Beauty Joy / Pink cap / Photo: HKJC
Beauty Joy (Sebring) raced as Talladega in Perth where he was bred, part-owned and trained by McAuliffe. He completed an unbeaten Ascot hat-trick as an autumn 3yo and lifted the bar again when landing the Listed John Roberts Quality (1800m).
Hong Kong came calling and that was the last Perth saw of him after Impressive accepted an offer of AUD1.40 million.
Beauty Joy has already earned AUD3.35 million and there will be more Group 1 windows of opportunity for owner Chan Chi Sun in the next year or two.
Fortune President (4g More Than Ready – I’m Your Venus by Show A Heart) was a surprise last-stride winner of the Lancashire Hcp (1650m) on Wednesday evening in a head-bobber with Splendid Living (Starspangledbanner).
The long-priced victory didn’t surprise Silvestre de Sousa. “With the light weight (53kg), I thought he was an each-way chance if I put him behind the leaders,” the Brazilian-born rider explained. “He was a bit uncomfortable around the bends, so it was just about balancing him and keeping him interested and his mind on the job and he responded in the straight.”
Impressive Racing bought his dam I’m Your Venus with a PPT to Falvelon and she foaled a chestnut filly in Perth five months after travelling from Glenlogan Park in Queensland. She was retained and is now an unraced 2yo named Martini Sunrise (Falvelon). The mare’s yearling is a colt by Universal Ruler.
