Racing: NZ-bred gelding wins with Vengeance

New Zealand's reputation for breeding champion racehorses was enhanced again when, before a massive crowd at the Sha Tin racecourse in Hong Kong last weekend, Vengeance Of Rain won the HK$18 million ($3.3 million) Hong Kong Cup.

Vengeance Of Rain, a 5-year-old gelding by Zabeel, was a hot favourite on the Hong Kong tote with South African rider Anthony Delpech on board and confirmed his star status in the territory.

He was both the champion middle-distance and stayer in Hong Kong last season with his wins including the Hong Kong Derby (2000m), the Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2000m) and the Champions Cup (2400m). He is trained by David Ferraris.

A useful fourth in the race was the former New Zealand-trained Russian Pearl who is now trained in Hong Kong. Russian Pearl is a previous winner of the Bayer Classic (1600m) at Otaki when trained at Woodville by Bruce Marsh.

Vengeance Of Rain has now raced 16 times for eight wins, a second and three thirds. He is unbeaten at five starts in distances from 1800m-2200m.

- REUTERS