Blazing Speed gave trainer Tony Cruz a rare first when causing a minor upset in the HK$20 million Group 1 Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Sha Tin Racecourse today, Sunday 26 April.

Cruz, a two-time Hong Kong Champion Trainer, has won just about all there is to win at Sha Tin, so there are not too many “firsts” left to achieve. But the Hong Kong legend had never managed to lift the prestigious Cup in his current capacity, although he did win the race as a jockey.

“I’ve been trying very hard to win this race,” said Cruz. “I managed to do it a few times as a jockey but to do it now as a trainer, I’m very happy about it. I told Neil (Callan) to ride a very patient race, get in midfield, find cover and wait for the straight. He rode a perfect race.”

It was also a first win in the race for Callan. The Irishman, who is enjoying his best ever Hong Kong season, gave what is becoming his trademark victory salute to the crowd: standing high in the stirrups, the rider roared with delight and pumped his fist as he swept past the post two lengths clear of a blanket finish for the minors. Japan’s Staphanos edged second by a short-head from Australian raider Criterion. It was a nose back to last year’s winner Designs On Rome and the same again to fifth-placed Packing Llaregyb.

“He’s been a champion for me,” said Callan, who was fortunate to suffer no worse than a minor foot injury in a fall at Sha Tin earlier this month and returned to the saddle last Sunday after missing one race meeting.

“I’m just lucky to get on him and grateful that I’m able to come back from the fall and be fit enough to take the ride. It’s been a sticky month for me with falls and a few glitches but it’s a nice way to come back,” he added.

Callan enjoyed a dream run in the 2000m contest. Blazing Speed, winner of the G2 Jockey Club Cup at the course and distance in November, sprang from the gate and tucked in to race one off the fence just fore of mid rank, as the John Moore-trained Same World set the tempo. The winner was an ominous presence on the outside entering the home turn, and, as the field of 12 swung into the straight Callan crouched down into the drive. The six-year-old responded with a decisive turn-of-foot that stopped the clock at 2m 02.89s.

“He was nice and relaxed in the preliminaries because it’s a bit daunting, the 2000m start in front of the crowd, it’s quite busy,” said Callan. “I kept him calm and relaxed and from the gate he jumped great. I couldn’t believe it, I landed in my position so early, so quickly, and the rest was just letting him relax, get a rhythm. Tony always says to me ‘just wait for the straight, wait for the straight’ so I counted to 10 and waited for the straight, but when I let him down I thought ‘well he’ll take a bit of getting now’.

“Over 2000m, that’s probably the most electric turn of foot he has,” he added. “The race was a little bit stop-start but it got going and slowed down and got going again at the right time for me so it was perfect!”

Cruz will now point the Dylan Thomas gelding at the G1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2400m) at Sha Tin next month. Blazing Speed won that final leg of the Hong Kong Triple Crown series last season having also won the first leg, the Stewards’ Cup (1600m), the previous January.

“He’s a very straightforward horse – as easy as he appears,” said the trainer. “We’ll definitely go to the Champions & Chater Cup now, the race he won last year. We could programme for elsewhere as well.”

The runner-up, Staphanos, could be back at Sha Tin in December according to trainer Hideaki Fujiwara, who said: “The Tenno Sho (Autumn) will be the big target and then we would like to come back here in December for the Hong Kong Cup.”

Jockey Yuichi Fukunaga said: “He was settled in the gate and he doesn’t usually break quickly so I pushed him from the start. Because of the good draw he settled in a good position and was able to travel nicely until the final turn. I wanted to shift him out at the top of the straight but Blazing Speed was outside me, so I was not able to push him when I needed to. He ran on well and showed guts in a powerful run to the finish.”

The 2013 winner, Military Attack, vied for the lead at the top of the stretch but faded to finish seventh. Britain’s Red Cadeaux was 11th and the French raider Smoking Sun finished 10th of 12.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said: “This afternoon’s APQEII Cup was a very exciting race featuring top-class international contenders and the result speaks for itself with Blazing Speed an impressive winner, the Japanese horse finishing second, the Australian horse third and Designs On Rome fourth. Looking at the ratings it is a satisfactory result for a race that is one of the top 20 Group 1 races in the world.

“The APQEII Cup’s elite position as an international race has been enhanced this afternoon. Today’s occasion shows that our vision of bringing international racing to Hong Kong is firmly on track.

“This year’s APQEII Cup was the 17th edition of the race under the Audemars Piguet banner. It has been a tremendous partnership and we are pleased that it will continue as we have extended our collaboration with Audemars Piguet through 2018.”

The day’s attendance was 31,943, an increase of 5 per cent on 2014, while turnover was the same as last year at HK$1,345 million.

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