No sign of 'blues' for Joao Moreira with magic Happy Valley four-timer
Godolphin may have overlooked the Magic Man, but he shrugged it off with a quartet of winners
Joao Moreira might have been passed over by Godolphin for a ride in the Cox Plate tomorrow, but the Magic Man shrugged it off with a Happy Valley masterclass last night that netted half the programme.
On the dreaded C+3 track that so heavily favours inside lanes, Moreira had some head start with three of his winners as Ten Flames (barrier one), Winning Mascot (three) and Foodie (two) were classic rail-hugging performances.
GALLERY: Kenneth Chan's photos of all races at Happy Valley on Thursday.
But it was the first leg of his winning double for Danny Shum Chap-shing on Young Watchman (gate seven) that showed the Brazilian can do much more than simply follow the rail around.
Joao Moreira is just such a brilliant jockey. Both of these horses really need a perfect ride to win ... Just watch how he saved the ground on Foodie
Young Watchman settled in midfield two wide, often a decent spot though not ideal in last night's conditions, but Moreira took advantage when the leaders steadied midrace and whipped around them to gain the lead.
The move put Young Watchman in front with more than 600m to run, so it needed a nuanced ride from that point to ensure the five-year-old wasn't out of chips before the race was over, but Moreira judged it to a nicety and the gelding clung on to his advantage.
