When bargain hunting owner Mr. Mok Shing Fung was perusing the May 2020 Inglis Online Sale Catalogue, a victory in the Group 1 SJM Macau Derby would have not been foremost in his mind.
Mok settled on Lot 67 a three-year-old brown gelding named Olympic, by Medaglia d’Oro out of the Street Cry mare Ringhals. After entering a bid of A$30,000, Mok was no doubt pleasantly surprised when he was able to pick up the horse with such a strong black type pedigree on the dam’s side, for such a modest sum, given that he was originally a A$280,000 yearling at the 2018 Inglis Easter Sales.
Mok renamed the gelding Simon Fubuki, and on Sunday per medium of super ride by Brazilian jockey Dayversom Barros, Simon Fubuki raced away with Macau’s premier event to win by two lengths over Yiucheung Champion (Shogo Nakano), with Circuit Miles (Luis Corrales) a neck away in third spot alongside of Snow Storm (Roger Yu) in fourth.
Snow Storm was actually third over the line, but was relegated to fourth following on objection by Corrales for interference over the final 150 metres, which was duly upheld.
For Simon Fubuki’s trainer Rambo Tse a former Hong Kong apprentice, it was his biggest win to date and his first Group 1 winner. As well, it was also the first Group victory for Dayversom Barros, who rode a perfect race on the four-year-old, finding the rails from gate six to settle in the first five, and from thereon never went around a horse.
“Oh man that was just so great” a pumped-up Barros said after the win.
“He was always traveling really well in the race. I wanted to get to the rails and get him cover to make him relax, and it turned out just perfect.”
“I was never worried about the leader Captain Brentford he was going way too fast, I just got on the back of Snow Storm and followed him and just kept getting the runs on the inside, even in the home straight.”
Mok Shing Fung consistently has around 12 horses in work with various trainers in the Club, and has had an amazing amount of success with horses from the Online Sales, picking up former high-priced horses for a fraction of their original costs.
Simon Fubuki (Olympic) had raced 11 times in Australia under the care of Chris Waller for a win in a Yarra Valley maiden over 1950 metres, and three other placed efforts that included a third at Randwick over 1100 metres earning a total of A$37,350 dollars.
Prior to Sunday’s Derby win the four-year-old had won twice on the sand in Macau at 1510 metres and once on the turf at 1500. After Sunday his total earnings in the enclave now stand at $1,854, 525 HKD, the equivalent of $324,000 Aussie dollars. It’s a been pretty tidy earn for Mr. Mok. And it’s not over yet by far, with Rambo Tse setting his sights on the Group 1 Macau Gold Cup on August 29.
Stanley Chin’s Australian mare Beauty Bolt, who had placed fourth in the VRC Oaks at Flemington was all the rage with punters, along with her stable mate the Guineas winner City Gold and Nick Moore’s Circuit Miles. Beauty Bolt ran on well late for fifth beaten three lengths, in what was a great effort on a day where it was tough for the back markers to make ground on the wet track. City Gold got back in the run from his wide gate and failed to run on, finishing a well beaten 11th almost ten lengths away.
Blackjack Mok is another bargain horse for Mok who bolted away with Sundays Class 3 over 1800 metres, under another Brazilian rider in Fausto Henrique.
Prepared by Sio Cheong, Blackjack Mok chalked up win number five in Macau with 16 placings, ten of those in the Q spot, from his 46 runs and has now earned a total of $1,381,660 HKD ($242,396 Aud) in prize money. A tidy return for a horse that Mok picked up on the Gavelhouse Australia Online Auctions for a mere $23,000 Aussie.
Blackjack Mok was originally a $290,000 purchase at the 2016 Gold Coast Yearling Sales. By All Too Hard (Aus) out of the King Cugat mare Devil Moon, the gelding raced in Australia as Devil’s Luck. Like Simon Fubuki he was also under the care of Chris Waller where he won a 1600 metre maiden at Wyong, and placed on three occasions from his 12 starts earning $44,540 in prizemoney.
The now six-year-old has plenty more left in him judging by Sunday’s win, and is very capable on both turf and sand. |