Leading trainer John Moore lavished praise on Trade Fair four-year-old Packing Whiz after his emphatic win in the Group 3 Sa Sa Ladies Purse (1800m) in Hong Kong yesterday. (November 14)
“This horse is the real deal,” said Moore. “He’s a Group 1 horse.
“At his previous win he was way under-done and even today he had a good blow. He hasn’t reached his peak.
“We’ve got big plans ahead. He’ll now go to the Group 2 2000m Jockey Club Cup on November 18 and then into the Group 1 2400m Hong Kong Cup on December 9.”
Jockey Brett Prebble settled Packing Whiz towards the rear in the 13-horse field and he exploded over the final 400m in 22.82sec. to score by 1 3/4 lengths in a slick 1.47.42.
Packing Whiz, bred in Ireland by John Cullinan and now raced by Lee Man Yan, raced in Europe as Al Rep and won last year’s historic Group 3 Premio Parioli – the Italian Two Thousand Guineas – in Rome.
The Premio Parioli, first run in 1907, was won a record 13 times by the legendary owner-breeder-trainer Federico Tesio, including the 1938 renewal with Nearco.
Packing Whiz is from the un-raced Efisio mare Swizzle, a half-sister to Premiere Curvee, the champion German older mare.
He gave Moore, a son of former champion jockey George Moore and a five-time champion trainer in Hong Kong, his fourth win in the Sa Sa Ladies Purse in the past six years.