Spangle clash gives Beauty Eternal the chance to ‘show us where he’s at’

Beauty Eternal gets the chance to “show us where he’s at” in his first brush with Hong Kong’s top echelon in Sunday’s Group Two Sha Tin Trophy (1,600m).

A two-time Group Three winner last season after his third as the favourite in March’s Hong Kong Derby (2,000m), Beauty Eternal rocketed to a rating of 117 in his debut campaign and now locks horns with reigning Group One Hong Kong Mile champion California Spangle.

“This is his chance to show us where he’s at. It’s always interesting with [last season’s] four-year-olds to see how they’ve come back and how they measure up against the older horses,” jockey Zac Purton said.

“He, obviously, gets a nice amount of weight off California Spangle, and he’s drawn a nice gate, so he gets his opportunity.”

Much like Tony Cruz’s view of the 129-rated California Spangle, Purton expects Beauty Eternal to come on plenty for the run in Sunday’s contest, with the grand final for both gallopers likely to be December’s Hong Kong Mile on international day.

“We know John Size’s horses always train on as they go through their preparations, but it gives us a good opportunity to see where he’s at,” Purton said of Beauty Eternal, who showed marked improvement between his two recent trials.

“That’s indicative of Size’s horses. They always improve as they progress through the trials and their races, so he won’t be any different.”

Beauty Eternal is one of three gallopers from last term’s Classic Series crop contesting the Sha Tin Trophy, with Encountered another youngster who finished last season with a bang.

That form is yet to translate to this campaign, however, with Manfred Man Ka-leung’s galloper finishing a tailed-out last behind Healthy Happy in last month’s Group Three Celebration Cup (1,400m).

“First time out, every horse is still fat. He wasn’t 100 per cent ready. He’d only had a soft trial. The pace was quite slow, and he wasn’t at his perfect distance. It was just too hard for him. At the top of the straight, he couldn’t kick again,” said jockey Derek Leung Ka-chun, who was in the saddle for Encountered’s late-season hat-trick and first-up sixth.

“His trial [since the Celebration Cup] was just OK. It could have been better, but he should keep improving. I won’t say he’s 100 per cent yet, but I’d say he’s on the right track, and a mile should be better for him. He has a light weight on Sunday, which will be good for him.”

Derby fifth placegetter Straight Arron is also looking to springboard off his four-year-old campaign, with Caspar Fownes’ charge running fourth in May’s Group One Champions & Chater Cup (2,400m) before his two-and-a-half-length fifth when resuming in the Celebration Cup.

“I was very happy with Straight Arron’s run first up over 1,400m. He’ll take improvement from that, and he’ll show something again on Sunday,” Fownes said.

“Then he’s ready after that, whether I decide to go to the [Group Three Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse (1,800m) on November 5] or straight to the [Group Two Jockey Club Cup (2,000m) on November 19]. It just depends on what he does on the weekend.”

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