Tony Cruz has saddled big-race winners in Japan and Dubai but never sent a horse to South Korea. Beauty Waves changes that on Sunday, and the trainer is satisfied the chestnut is the right type to take.
He lines up in the G3 Korea Sprint (1200m, sand) at Seoul Racecourse chasing Hong Kong's third win in the dash, after Super Jockey in 2016 and Self Improvement last year. He flew out on 25 August alongside Self Improvement and Gorgeous Win.
The surface is the obvious obstacle for any horse headed to Seoul. The surface at Seoul is far different to Hong Kong's all-weather track - essentially a dirt surface at Sha Tin – featuring deeper, looser sand.
The shifting surface creates some serious kickback and horses that take cover in Korea wear it for six furlongs. Cruz is unperturbed with a speedy horse that should be able to make his own luck out in front and avoid the dreaded kickback. Gate 13 does little to alter that thinking. A wide draw and a forward horse could make for a cleaner combination than a low gate and a wall of sand.
Beauty Waves’ dirt credentials read better than his overall race record suggests. He has started once on the dirt in Hong Kong, finishing third, but has won 15 barrier trials on dirt at Sha Tin and Conghua since arriving from Ireland in early 2023. He added another on the morning he flew out, covering 1050m in 1m 03.21s — sectionals of 17.1, 23 and 23.1 — under Jerry Chau.
Beauty Waves aims to become Hong Kong's third winner of the International Korea Sprint at Seoul on Sunday. HKJC
"The horse won on the Polytrack in Ireland and, on top of that, he's been winning trials here on the dirt in Hong Kong, so I think he will handle it," Cruz told the HKJC. "He'll be galloping on Thursday, and he'll get used to it. When he was in Ireland, he was also racing left-hand, so that will help him. So, it's not a big deal, because it's not the first time on a left-hand course."
The journey has not touched him either. "I'm very happy with his travelling. He's very good. He's got a great temperament. Nothing excites him, he's such a calm horse," Cruz said. "He should be losing weight but he's putting it all back on. His trial showed me that he is in form already."
Chau, who won this race 12 months ago aboard Self Improvement, retains the ride on the six-year-old and can post back-to-back victories. Manfred Man Ka-leung’s Self Improvement drew gate nine and Danny Shum Chap-shing’s Gorgeous Win gate 16.
Japan has taken the Korea Sprint four times in eight runnings and sends Dragon Welds and American Stage. "In Korea, the Japanese horses are very good," Cruz said. "These are my main opposition, I would say."
The race is simulcast in Hong Kong and is due off at about 3.20pm.
