Global Weekly Review: ‘Magic Man’ waves his wand for record 8 at Sha Tin

Joao Moreira produced the best riding performance seen in the 46 years of professional racing in Hong Kong when landing a record eight winners on Sunday's 11-race card at Sha Tin.

Moreira, 32, is known as the 'Magic Man' for his ability to do the impossible on horseback, and his feat in winning the 'magic eight' will not be lost on Chinese punters, who regard that number as the luckiest.

"I don't really have the words to describe it," the Brazilian said at the end of a long day. "It's amazing. I didn't expect it to happen to be honest," he added.

Moreira, who is permanently based in Hong Kong, had flown overnight from Sydney, where he competed at the Randwick Guineas meeting on Saturday.

It was the second time in his illustrious career that he had ridden eight winners in a day. In 2013, he chalked up eight at Kranji, Singapore, where his impact on the local scene was just as impressive as it has been in Hong Kong.

This was a weekend meant to showcase the talents of brilliant horses and pinpoint which would be headed for major prizes in Dubai, Australia and America in coming weeks. But Moreira extinguished those expectations in one afternoon. It was all about the jockey.

Godolphin enjoyed a highly successful day at Meydan on 'Super Saturday,' landing the G2 Dubai City Of Gold with the Saeed bin Suroor-trained Prize Money, who put his name on the card for the G1 Sheema Classic on World Cup night with a telling defeat of Postponed.

Adrie de Vries, on Prize Money, impressively won a battle of tactics with rival Andrea Atzeni, who found it impossible to maneuver Postponed to the outside and then had to switch inside in the final 200 metres.
But it was too late for Postponed, who failed by a neck.

Charlie Appleby saddled Jungle Cat and Baccarat for a 1-2 in the Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint, over six furlongs, which serves as the ideal prep for the Al Quoz, run over course and distance, on World Cup night on March 25.

The Saeed-trained Move Up battled gallantly for his fourth in the G1 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3, beaten three and a quarter lengths on his first outing on dirt. The race was won by Long River, who will now have a crack at the World Cup.

In Australia, desperately heavy ground conditions made it impossible for some horses at Randwick, but Inference, trained by Team Hawkes, came from last with an impressive late flourish to clinch a fine victory in the G1 Randwick Guineas. He is now on target for next month's ATC Derby.

In Melbourne, the Tony McEvoy-trained Hey Doc defeated Prized Icon in the G1 Australian Guineas at Flemington but on good ground.

In Auckland, the capable Gingernuts took the G1 New Zealand Derby, which proved a triumph for his sire Iffraaj, the Darley stallion, who also had the third, Jon Snow.

On the Kentucky Derby trail, Irish War Cry finished a disappointing 7th in the G2 Fountain Of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park, with the race won by Gunnevera, who had previously been beaten by the former in the Holy Bull Stakes.

A change of tactics brought about the reversal of form, according to winning jockey Javier Castellano.

Meanwhile, trainer Graham Motion is pondering his next move with Irish War Cry, who came to the race unbeaten in three starts.