He won’t be there in person in one of his iconic safari suits, but John Moore will make a return to Hong Kong racing in a new role as owner of Grand Eagle at Sha Tin on Saturday.
Moore is the city’s most successful trainer with a record 1,735 wins and HK$2.099 billion in prize money, along with more than 30 Group One victories, six Hong Kong Derby wins, seven championships and nine Horse of the Year titles.
Forced into retirement by the Jockey Club’s age limit of 70 years old at the end of the 2019-20 season, Moore made two aborted attempts to return to training in Australia but kept his maroon and white racing colours active in Australia with gallopers he owned.
Those same colours will be carried by Australian import Grand Eagle when he makes his Hong Kong debut in the Class Three Snipe Handicap (1,200m) on dirt.
“I don’t go racing in Hong Kong, but I watch racing all the time and I’m interested in pedigrees, what’s winning in Hong Kong and what owners might be looking for,” Moore said.
