Beauty Only's hallmark late charge snatched the 1600 metre feature, but only
just. Zac Purton drove the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile candidate to a last nod
success from stablemate and 96/1 outsider, Romantic Touch."Today I expected him to win," trainer Tony Cruz said. "I also expected Romantic Touch to put in a big race, but I didn't expect him to run second!"
Beauty Only was sent off the marginal second pick at 3.3, with last season's champion miler Sun Jewellery the 3.2 favourite.
"The race was run at a nice tempo for me, I thought, and I came out with plenty of time at the top of the straight – I thought he'd put them away pretty comfortably. I knew coming down to the 200 though that it was going to be a fight, but I always felt he was going to get there," Purton said.
Beauty Only has won nine of 27 starts, four of those wins coming in Black Type events.
"He's a very intelligent horse and I suppose he just does what he has to do and as long as he's doing that (winning) we're happy," said Purton, who is looking forward to riding the Holy Roman Emperor gelding in the HK$23 million LONGINES Hong Kong Mile next month.
"Beauty Only has great potential," Cruz said of the 2015 Hong Kong Classic Mile victor. "He's a really solid miler and he needs a firm track. There looks to be a lot of kick-back (on the turf) today and Zac said there was and that the horse didn't really like it. He loves real fast ground.
"I believe he can be a big player on International day. He's a much better racehorse than this time last year. He's much more professional and he'll be spot on for the big day – I'm looking forward to it."
Beauty Only is the best of seven winners from Ali-Royal mare Goldendale and is one of 60 stakes-winners for Holy Roman Emperor, who stands at Aquis Farm at a fee of $9,900.
