The prospect of full brothers Time Warp and Glorious Forever trading blows at the front of the field in the Longines Hong Kong Cup on international day became very real with the latter’s blistering win at Sha Tin on Sunday.
The dynamic four-year-old stormed to victory in the Class Two IWC Excellent Handicap (1,800m) with a front-running performance that surprised even trainer Frankie Lor Fu-chuen.
“I thought he had a good chance but I didn’t think he would win like that,” Lor said.
Time Warp led all the way to blitz the field in last year’s Hong Kong Cup and Glorious Forever’s showing on Sunday left Lor dreaming that Hong Kong’s richest race could be staying in the family.
Time Warp's brother Glorious Forever continues to do a striking impression of his older sibling and destroys a smart field in R4 from a mark of 96 under @zpurton. Frankie Lor pinpoints the Sa Sa Ladies' Purse as a springboard to the LONGINES HKIR. #HKracing pic.twitter.com/K9bbrMGGZU
— HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) October 21, 2018
“Yes [I think so], but I’m not sure because Time Warp is a year older. This one is still young,” Lor said when asked if Glorious Forever could prove to be as good as his Tony Cruz-trained brother.
Zac Purton puts the brakes on expectations for Glorious Forever: ‘ability can only take you so far’
Lor said the Hong Kong Cup is his “target at the moment” with Glorious Forever, with the Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse on November 4 forming part of the build-up.
It was Glorious Forever’s third win from five starts and Lor said he thinks there is plenty of improvement in the gelding, who was having his first start of the season after finishing last term with two consecutive victories.
Among those efforts was his time of 1:59.53 in a 2,000m Class Two race, which saw him shave nearly half a second off Time Warp’s track record, which he set in the Group One Hong Kong Gold Cup.
Zac Purton took hot favourite Glorious Forever straight to the front and the gelding never looked like being headed on his way to a two-and-a-half length victory over Pikachu.
Glorious Forever smashes his brother’s 2,000m track record at Sha Tin
Purton, who rode Time Warp to his two Group One victories, has spoken about the horse’s tendency to over-race, but Lor is confident the ability to settle better in the run will come with time.
“I hope after this he will be a little bit better and more relaxed,” Lor said. “Today he could not relax, maybe after this race he will be better.”
The only concern surrounding the fraternal showdown could be with Time Warp, who dropped out to finish last in the Group Two Oriental Watch Sha Tin Trophy (1,600m) later in the day.
