Joao Moreira will not be able to extend his unbeaten record on Australian sprinter Brazen Beau at Royal Ascot next week even after owners pleaded for some leeway from Hong Kong Jockey Club officials. 

Brazen Beau isn’t a horse with a Hong Kong connection, he isn’t coming here for an international race and there was no compelling reason to run the risk of Joao missing the meeting
Bill Nader, HKJC executive director of racing

Brazen Beau is entered for races on the first and last day of the five-day racing festival but trainer Chris Waller is expected to skip the King's Stand Stakes on Tuesday with the muscular type and instead contest Saturday's Diamond Jubilee Stakes.

Moreira is three-from-three on Brazen Beau, including a last-start Newmarket Handicap success in Melbourne, and the horse's ownership group - which features 38 members, some of whom bought into the horse for as little as A$2,500 - were keen to maintain the connection.

Although recently purchased by breeding giants Darley in a deal worth more than A$10 million, the lucky owners who purchased the colt will race the horse on lease until the end of this month.

Syndicate manager Grant Morgan, who bought the horse for A$70,000 as a yearling, said Moreira had become part of the team.

"We've had caps made up and Joao's name is on there," Morgan said. "If Joao isn't on Brazen Beau's back at Royal Ascot there will be a piece of us that is disappointed about that because he has been incredibly important in the horse's journey. 

"A jockey can't be the primary consideration, but there is no denying he has an amazing affinity with the horse. He has ridden him to three dominant victories."

Both Morgan and Darley's Australian boss Henry Plumptre wrote to the Hong Kong Jockey Club asking for permission for Moreira to miss the opening few races at the Sha Tin meeting on Sunday, June 21.

"Hong Kong is a great racing jurisdiction and we respect the structure it has been built upon. That's not something we can change," Morgan said, adding that Craig Williams would ride the horse in the Diamond Jubilee. 

Hong Kong Jockey Club executive director of racing  Bill Nader said "timing was the problem" and they could not run the risk of Moriera missing their meeting.

"I believe the owner understood the situation and accepted it, so did Joao, who knows his primary obligation is riding here. If Brazen Beau was to run in the King’s Stand on Tuesday it’s a different ball game, as Joao would be there anyway.

“We try to be as accommodating as we can with these engagements for big races elsewhere, but in this case we were conscious of the big distance involved.

"Our best-case scenario was that Joao would miss the first four races at Sha Tin but any delays at all there would be no margin for error, and the Ryan Moore case with the Derby here showed that travel doesn’t always go smoothly.

“Brazen Beau isn’t a horse with a Hong Kong connection, he isn’t coming here for an international race and there was no compelling reason to run the risk of Joao missing the meeting.”

Brazen Beau cantered on Newmarket's Limekilns on Thursday morning and will breeze over the same stretch of turf with Waller in attendance on Saturday.

"The King's Stand is still there as an option, as is running in both races. But we will leave that to Chris, he is the trainer and we leave it entirely to him," Morgan said. 

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