Dein erstes Forum » Peter Uihlein was a stroke back along with Dut

Horse racing in Hong Kong. It sounds exotic, doesnt it? Actually, it is.On the second Sunday of December each year, Hong Kong racing and in particular Sha Tin racecourse takes the main stage of the global sport as the Longines Hong Kong International Races not only delivers a celebration of top-quality racing, but also a calendar year finale that packs plenty of punting punch.Apart from sanctioned betting on selected sporting events, horse racing has a virtual monopoly on the punting dollar. It isnt unusual for the win pool on the Tote-only betting facility to fly beyond the AU$5 million mark for even the lower graded races. It just shows how the twice-weekly racing programs in this major city sees literally every race being an event in itself.It isnt clouded, diluted or even drowned by a glut of other races before and after.Sydney-based trainer Gary Moore is no stranger to this part of the world. His family name is one of the most synonymous with the sport globally - his late father George was considered one of the worlds best jockeys and was recently elevated to legend status in the Australian Racing Hall of Fame.Despite having such a towering figure in the sport as your father, there doesnt seem to have been any great shadow hanging over the next generation. Should Garys charge Takedown win the AU$3.2 million Longines Hong Kong Sprint (1200m), anyone looking on at the event will see a post-race celebration that would make even the most hardened of racing pundits smile.As he showed after Takedown won at Group 2 level in Sydney earlier this year, then after the success in the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) in Perth a fortnight ago, Gary celebrates like no other: he jumps the fence, dances down the straight, waves his arms in delight, hugs the horse ... he even once planted a kiss on a male television presenters cheek, and doesnt hold back in saying how special it is to win at the highest level.Its emotion, joy, and I look up and think wow look what weve done. So I just like to show my feelings and I find it hard to contain myself, Moore told ESPN.Moores excitement with each win is quite the compliment to all of the events themselves given that, as a jockey, he won the worlds best race, the Prix de lArc de Triomphe in France in 1981 and was Hong Kongs premier jockey over seven seasons.It just means so much to me to accomplish this kind of success as a trainer, he said. Were on the world stage here. If I could pull it off then itll be a great result.Moore said his father was an undoubted influence on his career.Dad sent me away early to improve my riding. I couldnt ride much [very well] in the beginning and I only came good when I got to my 20s. Like a bottle of red wine, I got better with age, he chuckled.I never thought if it like that. I knew I had a famous father but I was still determined to succeed as a rider which I was lucky enough to be able to do.Takedown takes on an excellent field in the Sprint at Sha Tin on a card that boasts more than $15 million in prizemoney. There is little doubt that should he win, it will be well earned.Hes done fantastically well (since arriving in Hong Kong). He looked great on the track and the compliments about his appearance have been unbelievable. From barrier six, I think hes going to be hard to beat, Moore said.I still like the Japanese horse, Big Arthur. References have been made to Big Arthur being as good as (topline Japanese sprinter) Lord Kanaloa. If that is the case, then were just running for a place. But he has to jump from barrier 13 and weve got a good gate to be able to take a prominent position in the run.Hes an amazing horse (Takedown). Hes traveled from Melbourne to Perth, then onto Hong Kong and still looks and is so well. What has stood us in good stead is that hes had 10 days to settle in.After spending most of his training life in Macau, a move to take on the tough Sydney training marketplace came about two years ago as Moore ticked into his sixties. He now returns to the Asian racing hub as a Group 1-winning trainer in Australia.Its an honour to be here. Ive had great success here. To come back to Hong Kong as a Group 1-winning trainer is something that I didnt expect to happen so quickly. Ive got the horse that has put me there and I just hope that he can perform to my expectations, Moore said.Takedown was invited to come to this race when he was still only a Group 2 winner. So since he won at Group 1 after that, it gives great face to the HKJCs foresight in inviting him.Not unlike many other successful modern day trainers, Moores racing business is just as strategic about winning races. It isnt just winning them, but which ones.A midweek maiden run at Doomben in Brisbane in July is a long way from the bright lights and cheers Hong Kong, but it is back toward his old stomping ground that even minor races like that play a role in bigger things to come.Host Win Legend started a $2.50 favourite for Moore on that day. With the horses Chinese owners on track for the race, it was apparent that Moore had made the trip from Sydney for a reason.As Host Win Legend bounded from the starting gates with jockey Luke Dittman pushing him vigoursly to an early lead over the sprint trip, and kicked away around the Doomben home turn to win, Moore was the most animated person the course may well have seen for a very long time.Go Baby! Go Baby! he shouted over the last 200 metres, which was as much about Moores pleasure of a plan coming together as it was about giving discerning Asian ownership confidence in what they had just seen.I said to Jason Tan, the owner, youve got a permit buy a horse to race in Hong Kong - why spend a lot of money in getting one when we can get this horse there for you, Moore recalled.I had to win that race, he said as the result saw the horses rating reach the required level to be accepted by the Hong Kong Jockey Club into their horse population.And so the strategy had delivered and Host Win Legend now races in Hong Kong as Magic Legend but is yet to have a start in his new home.It is all about taking on races that you can win, he said. Yesterday we had a winner at Goulburn, on Sunday we won a race a Hawkesbury. We are traveling around with the horsepower that we have. Well be racing at Rosehill on Saturday, back at Hawkesbury on Sunday and here in Hong Kong too.Theres a lot of planning and that is where Dad was such a great trainer too.I go to bed at night with the racing calendar.Come Sunday night, Gary Moore may well be taking some extra items with him as he drifts off into dreamland - a shiny prestige watch and a decent Hong Kong dollar cheque.And dont forget that celebration too. It may just become as legendary as his famous family name.Lance Alworth Jersey . Shot outdoors against the stunning backdrop of Banff, Alta., the networks 30-minute original production airs tonight at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2. The four All-Star teams will play for $100,000 in prize money during TSNs annual skins game, airing live this weekend on TSN from The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre. Nasir Adderley Chargers Jersey . 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MAYNOOTH, Ireland -- Saying hes "feeling a bit lost" in a difficult year, Rory McIlroy shot a 2-over 74 on Thursday in the Irish Open to fall eight strokes behind first-round leader Oscar Floren. The second-ranked McIlroy, from Northern Ireland, had four bogeys and two birdies in wet and overcast conditions at Carton House on the outskirts of Dublin. McIlroy hit only five of 14 fairways and took 34 putts. "At the moment, no aspects of my game are strong and Im just feeling a bit lost at the moment," he said. "It feels good on the range and I can hit all the shots, but when I get out on the course it really does not seem to be there. "Off the tee, I am missing one right and then missing one left and its just not going where I want it. It gets you in two minds every time you are playing a tee shot. The game is just not coming easy to me at the moment and while I was struggling at this point last year, I was able to turn the corner in the middle of the summer and have a great end to my season. I dont know whether its a matter of trying to play my way out of it or just keeep grinding away on the range or whatever.dddddddddddd" Floren, from Sweden, had a 6-under 66. He drove the green on the par-4 13th and holed a 20-foot eagle putt. "I just came out and hit everything really, really pure," Floren said. American Peter Uihlein was a stroke back along with Dutchman Joost Luiten, , Frances Jean-Baptiste Gonnet, Northern Irelands Michael Hoey and Irelands Shane Lowry. Uihlein, the Madeira Islands Open winner last month, is making his 10th European Tour start of the year. The former Oklahoma State star won the 2010 U.S. Amateur. Lowry, the 2009 winner at County Louth as an amateur, had six birdies and a bogey played alongside McIlroy. "I was just chomping at the bit to get out there this morning and I was just trying to play me way into the tournament nicely so Im really pleased with a 67," he said. Hoey said wife Barbara had their first child induced last week so he could compete in the event. "Its great being a father and already its added a new perspective to my life," said Hoey, a four-time European Tour winner. ' ' '