Hong Kong's Horse of the Year Beauty Generation (NZ) (Road to Rock) made the perfect return to racing at Sha Tin on Monday, leading home Hong Kong Derby winner Ping Hai Star (NZ) (Nom du Jeu) for a Karaka quinella in the HK$3.25 million Group 3 Celebration Cup (1400m).
Both horses were offered by Highden Park at Karaka. Beauty Generation sold for $60,000 at the 2014 Select Sale, while Ping Hai Star fell short of his $40,000 reserve at the same sale a year later.
Beauty Generation was a revelation last season with five stakes wins, headed by the Group 1 Hong Kong Mile (1600m), Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m) and Champions Mile (1600m).
On Monday he became a back-to-back winner of the Celebration Cup, carrying more than 60 kilograms to an outstanding victory.
Rider Zac Purton had him prominently positioned throughout the race, then took control and powered away to win by two and a quarter lengths in a fast time of 1:20.62.
"As a racegoer, you like to see something close quickly, like Able Friend or like Winx," trainer John Moore said. "But he's not flashy, he just gets the job done; the way he did it today, in 1:20.62, he's pretty good!
"He's getting better. If that's the case, we're going into the Hong Kong Mile in December with a big chance again."
Raced by Patrick Kwok, Beauty Generation has now had 23 starts for 10 wins, seven placings and more than HK$41.5 million – the equivalent of NZ$8 million, which is more than 130 times his purchase price.
| Vendor | Highden Park |
| Purchaser | Hermes Syndications (New South Wales) |
| Breeding | Road to Rock – Stylish Bel |
| Sale | Lot 835, 2014 Select Sale, $60,000 |
| Bred by | Nearco Stud Ltd |
