Furore (NZ) Flies Home in Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse

With a remarkable come-from-behind performance in Sunday’s HK$3.5 million Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse (1800m) at Sha Tin, Karaka graduate Furore (NZ) (Pierro) provided a stunning reminder of his star quality.

Picked up for $210,000 from Haunui Farm’s draft at the 2016 Premier Sale, Furore was a star age-group performer with victories in the Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) and Hong Kong Derby (2000m) as a four-year-old. Sunday’s victory was his seventh from 24 starts and lifted his career earnings past HK$30 million – more than 27 times his purchase price.

While Furore had gone winless since his Hong Kong Derby heroics in March of last year, he has been a consistent performer with six top-four finishes in major races in between times. After joining the stable of champion trainer Tony Cruz earlier this year, Furore roared back into winning form on Sunday.

He was ridden by Joao Moreira and spent most of the race back near the tail of the field. But he unleashed a superb sprint in the home straight, running his last 400 metres in 22.2 seconds. He bounded to the lead and scored by a length and a quarter.

“I was confident Furore could win today,” Cruz said. “His lead-up run was pretty good, and 1800 metres is much better for him than a mile. I told Joao he would come home strongly, especially with the light weight.”

Third-placed Dances With Dragon (NZ) (Savabeel) completed a big result for Karaka graduates. Formerly known as Hall of Fame, he was a $230,000 purchase from the 2015 Ready to Run Sale and was a Group One winner in New Zealand prior to his sale to Hong Kong. He has now won 11 races and more than HK$9 million (NZ$1.74 million).

The 2021 National Yearling Sales Series will begin with Book 1, which runs across three days from Sunday 24 January. That will be followed by Book 2 from Wednesday 27 through to Thursday 28 January.