‘All the time I’m able and I’m asked, I’ll never say no’ – Ryan Moore talks all things LONGINES IJC and his admiration for Romantic Warrior
22/11/2024 10:45
If you go back to 2006 when Ryan Moore made his LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) debut, it was Olivier Peslier who took home the trophy ahead of Glen Boss and Andreas Suborics at the end of what was undoubtedly a good night for the visitors.
Moore finished sixth on that occasion and, in a remarkable sequence, has contested every edition since with the exception of 2008.
And off the back of another stellar year in which his 19 Group 1 winners have included a Derby Stakes (2400m), Eclipse Stakes (1990m) and International Stakes (2051m) treble with City Of Troy, Moore could yet be crowned LONGINES World’s Best Jockey two days after the LONGINES IJC if Auguste Rodin makes it 20 for the season in Sunday’s G1 Japan Cup (2400m) in association with LONGINES.
“I’ve always seen it as a privilege to be asked to ride in the LONGINES IJC and all the time I’m able to and I’m wanted, I’ll never say no,” says Moore.
“If you don’t want to ride here, then I don’t know. It’s the best jockeys’ challenge and a great week, and I always like to hope I’ll be riding on the Sunday in the LONGINES HKIR races.”
All that said, Moore’s run of appearances in this HK$1 million challenge includes wins in 2009 and 2010, as well as podium finishes on another four occasions, and speaks to a jockey who feels plenty of affinity with this unique city layout.
“Racing in Hong Kong is probably the most competitive in the world and I’m always delighted to take part when I’m asked,” says Moore, who admits that the tight nature of the handicaps which make up the four legs of the LONGINES IJC can be a double-edged sword.
Asked if the open nature of the racing means he always approaches the evening believing he has a half a chance, Moore says: “Yeah, but you’ve also got half a chance of not doing very well. You might get a good horse and then get a bad draw.
“There’s so many variables and you could get lucky on one that’s maybe not quite as good but who gets a nice run round and nick a win as well.
“You do always have a chance because it’s that sort of track and the horses are evenly matched. But there could just be a standout in one leg, one that’s ahead of his mark, that’s just the nature of racing.”
While the LONGINES IJC gives the Happy Valley fans the chance to see some of the world’s best fly in to face off, for Moore the standard is set by those jockeys who earn their living there every week of the season.
Douglas Whyte was the Hong Kong maestro when Moore first began visiting, while he has since enjoyed measuring himself against Joao Moreira, Zac Purton and defending LONGINES IJC champion Vincent Ho.
“The riders in Hong Kong are top class and they always have been,” says Moore. “Zac looks to have started this season going probably as well as he’s ever done. He’s always very hard to beat, just as Joao and Douglas were.
“Hughie (Bowman) and Vincent are the same, every one of them is very capable of getting the job done.”
Moore will also be a major player during the biggest meeting of the year at Sha Tin on Sunday, December 8, which features the four LONGINES Hong Kong International Races, worth HK$126 million.
He came within a short head of landing the feature G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m) 12 months ago with Luxembourg, only to become the latest to discover just how hard it is to get the better of the remarkable Romantic Warrior.
Luxembourg finishes second to Romantic Warrior in the 2023 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup.
Hong Kong’s reigning horse of the year has since recorded a second top-level success abroad in the G1 Yasuda Kinen (1600m) at Tokyo in June, and warmed up for his hat-trick bid in the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup with a bloodless four and a quarter length win in the G2 BOCHK Jockey Club Cup (2000m) on 17 November.
“(Trainer) Danny (Shum) has done a great job and I think James (McDonald) rides him beautifully,” says Moore.
“He’s an uncomplicated horse who starts very well, they can position him wherever they want to. He doesn’t over-race, he relaxes. He’s very professional, he’s all business and has a great will to win.
“He does everything right at the moment and that’s why he’s very hard to beat.”
Reflecting on last year’s titanic LONGINES Hong Kong Cup battle, Moore added: “I felt if I’d had another stride on Luxembourg, I was probably up. Any horse is beatable on the day but he’s going to be very hard to beat.”
Turning to prospects for the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m), Moore has been equally taken with the rise of David Hayes-trained Ka Ying Rising, who broke Sacred Kingdom’s track record for 1200m of 17 years by clocking 1m 07.43s (0.07s faster) in the G2 BOCHK Private Banking Jockey Club Sprint on the same card last Sunday (17 November).
“Similar comments apply to Ka Ying Rising, who was seriously impressive on Sunday,” says Moore. “He seems to just do everything correctly in the race; he gets out and puts himself where Zac wants to be.
“When they’ve got that it’s a massive advantage but all the races on International day have usually got full fields and so you never know what can happen.”
