Never In Doubt for Maurice in the Champions Mile

The Japanese came loaded for bear for the G1 Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup a week ago, but the likes of Lovely Day (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) and Nuovo Record (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) struggled in the easy underfoot conditions and were forced to leave empty-handed. There was plenty of rain forecasted for this past week leading up to Sunday's G1 Champions Mile, but the wet stuff stayed largely away and Maurice (Jpn) (Screen Hero {Jpn}) gained a modicum of revenge with a dominating defeat of Hong Kong's Contentment (Aus) (Hussonet) and Packing Pins (NZ) (Pins {Aus}) Sunday afternoon.

Sunday, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
CHAMPIONS MILE-G1, HK$14,000,000 (£1,238,854/ €1,592,119/A$2,371,064/US$1,804,560), 3yo/up, 1600mT, 1:34.08, gd.
1–MAURICE (JPN), 126, h, 5, by Screen Hero (Jpn)
1st Dam: Mejiro Frances (Jpn), by Carnegie (Ire)
2nd Dam: Mejiro Monterey (Jpn), by Mogami (Fr)
3rd Dam: Mejiro Quincey (Jpn), by Fidion (Fr)
(¥10,500,000 2yo '13 HOKMAY). O-Kazumi Yoshida; B-Togawa Bokujo; T-Noriyuki Hori; J-Joao Moreira; HK$7,980,000. Lifetime Record: Horse of the Year, Ch. Sprinter, Ch. Miler & MG1SW-Jpn, 14-9-0-1, HK$42,593,650. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: D+.[bullet ad=”irt-shell”]2–Contentment (Aus), 126, g, 5, Hussonet–Jemison (Aus), by Commands (Aus). O-Benson Lo; B-P J Favretto, T & J Hodgson AM, Mr P Rowe, D & P Sinn (NSW); T-John Size; J-Brett Prebble; HK$3,080,000.
3–Packing Pins (NZ), 126, g, 5, Pins (Aus)–Splashing Out (NZ), by O'Reilly (NZ). (NZ$160,000 Ylg '12 NZBPRE). O-Lee Wan Keung & Lee Wong Wai Kuen; B-Waikato Stud 2001 Ltd; T-Ricky Yiu; J-Gerald Mosse; HK$1,400,000.
Margins: 2, 3/4, HF. Odds: 11-10, 39-10, 10-1.
Also Ran: Beauty Only (Ire), Safety Check (Ire), Beauty Flame (Ire), Gun Pit (Aus), Giant Treasure, Rewarding Hero (GB), Dundonnell, Secret Weapon (GB), Bow Creek (Ire).
Click for the HKJC.com chart, PPs and VIDEO. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

Purchased by Northern Farm for ¥10.5 million (about US$98,000) at a 2-year-old in training sale on the island of Hokkaido in May 2013, Maurice won two of his three starts at two, but failed to make any material impact during his Classic season, with a third to the classy Staphanos (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in a minor Kyoto stakes his sophomore high-water mark.

It's been a different story altogether since then.

He burst out of the gate to annex his first three outings of 2015, including the G3 Lord Derby Challenge Trophy, before validating favoritism in the G1 Yasuda Kinen last June. Spelled thereafter, he resumed with a wide-trip success in Kyoto's G1 Mile Championship S. Nov. 22, then raided Hong Kong for the first time and took out the G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile, besting Giant Treasure (Mizzen Mast) and odds-on Able Friend (Aus) (Shamardal). Maurice was penciled in for a trip to the desert for the G1 Dubai Turf, a race won by compatriot Real Steel (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), but ultimately passed. Meydan's loss was Sha Tin's gain Sunday.

A market 'drifter' from odds-on into 11-10 as Packing Pins firmed late, Maurice bounced away cleanly from barrier six and landed in the one-out, one-back spot, outside of Contentment and on the back of longshot Rewading Hero (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) as Beauty Flame (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}) enjoyed a soft lead. Positions remained unchanged up front as they ran the circle, and just when it looked like Secret Weapon (GB) (Choisir {Aus}) might create some havoc for the favorite and leave him in a pocket, Joao Moreira eased Maurice off the heels of Rewarding Hero and they traveled ominously well three wide at the head of the lane. Shaken up a furlong and a half down, Maurice swept up to take the race by the throat, put daylight on his rivals in a couple of ground-gobbling strides and glided home the most convincing of winners. His final 400m was an other-wordly :21.79. Contentment sat a perfect trip and got through in upper stretch, but was no match for the winner, while the well-backed Packing Pins stayed on well into third. Beauty Only (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) endured a wide trip, but closed off well to be fourth in advance of Godolphin's Safety Check (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who also ran with credit.

“He was lucky to get such a good position in the race, which gave me plenty of options to put him out whenever I wanted,” said the winning rider. “He gave me so much confidence that he was going to get there any time that I was going to press the button. When I gave him the daylight he just started to get going by himself and showed what he is capable of. He's a lovely horse and I think he can step up to a longer distance. I'm very blessed to have been given an opportunity to ride this horse today.”

Mejiro Frances is the dam of the maiden 3-year-old colt Pittsburgh (Jpn) (Danon Chantilly {Jpn}) and foaled a full-brother to Maurice in 2015. She was most recently bred back to Screen Hero.