Generation game catches up on Beauty as Waikuku shines at Sha Tin

The crown on the head of the world's highest rated miler hangs loose after Beauty Generation suffered his second shock defeat in the space of a month at Sha Tin this morning.

John Moore's dual LONGINES Hong Kong Mile hero was sent off at 1.3 for the G2 Jockey Club Mile but could never shake clear of his rivals after running wide on and early and faded into third as Waikuku stormed past under Joao Moreira on the inside to beat Ka Ying Star by three quarters of a length.

Beauty Generation was a length further back with his rider Zac Purton simply saying "we know he's better than that, let's hope he can prove it at level weights."

Moreira described Waikuku's victory as "definitely a good surprise" but is confident that the Harbour Watch gelding can show up boldly again in the HK Mile on December 8th having made it two out of three in his ongoing battle with Beauty Generation this season.

"No-one expected what happened in the back straight and that left my horse with plenty of space," he added.

"Ka Ying Star was holding me in early in the straight and I had to hope a gap came but once it did my horse was full on and didn't hesitate. I wouldn't think about changing distance with him. The way he's done it today I'm more than happy to ride my bloke at the Mile."

Winning trainer John Size is equally happy to remain at a mile for HKIR day and simply said "it looks that way" when it was suggested that that Waikuku is looking like the potential heir to Beauty Generation's miling throne.

"Waikuku just keeps improving every day he comes to the races," he said. "Beauty Generation will have his fans in different circumstances and he'll be the one to beat again."

Exultant on the march towards Vase again

Waikuku's early days were spent with John Oxx and another Irish import took centre stage half an hour later when Exultant (formerly Irishcorrespondent when third in Churchill's Irish 2000 Guineas for Michael Halford) defied a G1 penalty in decisive fashion in the Jockey Club Cup.

Tony Cruz's gelding looked stronger the further he went under a confident Purton in forging a length and a quarter clear of last season's HK Derby winner Furore and is now in pole position to emulate Luso, Doctor Dino and Highland Reel as a dual winner of the HK Vase next month.

Brilliant Aethero trounces JC Sprint rivals

Moore was in the spotlight again in a fiercely competitive Jockey Club Sprint and the much-vaunted Aethero was sent off as red hot 2.8 favourite to live up to his handler's view that he could be "a potential superstar."

The precocious three-year-old was in far deeper than ever before against the cream of HK's powerful sprint division but lived up to his billing in brilliant style under Karis Teetan, showing brazen speed from start to finish and needing mere hands and heels assistance to power home clear of Hot King Prawn and reigning champion sprinter Beat The Clock.

The winner stopped the clock in 67.58secs - just eight hundredths of a second outside Sacred Kingdom's 2007 track record for 1200m but HK racing's mercurial bad boy Pakistan Star blotted his copybook yet again and pulled himself up soon after the start under Blake Shinn.