The Sha Tin racetrack looked to playing to on-pace runners all day, which suited Zac Purton just fine on the free-running Time Warp in Sunday's G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup.
Never seriously challenged at any stage, the Tony Cruz-trained chestnut cruised home by two and a quarter lengths from the favoured Werther, who was given every chance by Tommy Berry, with Japan's Neorealism (JPN) back in third. (photos Grant Courtney) .
A winner of five consecutive races, including a pair of Listed stakes, when trained in England by Sir Mark Prescot, Time Warp was winning his first stakes race in 14 starts in Hong Kong and he chose the right stage to do it.
"He's got a high cruising speed and he can kick off that so if anything attacks him you see how good he is today."
Bred by Kirsten Rausing, Time Warp is the third Group 1 winner for Lanwades Stud's Archipenko (Kingmambo x Bound by Nijinsky).
Not a lot to get over-enthused about in the female line of Time Warp.
He is out of the winning Stormy Atlantic mare Here To Eternity who is a daughter of Heat Of The Night (Lear Fan) a Listed stakes-winner in Germany.
