Rising Hong Kong Star Cheered by Three Bridges

The promising John Moore trained three year-old Magic Legend kept his unbeaten Hong Kong record intact when posting his third straight win at Sha Tin on Sunday.

A brilliant winner over 1000 metres at his first two Hong Kong runs last month, the Red Element gelding stepped up in class and out to 1200 metres for the first time and emerged triumphant.

He led all the way for Douglas Whyte and kicked on to win by three quarters of a length.

Magic Legend had five starts in Australia at two for Garry Moore winning at Hawkesbury and Doomben last year and has gone right on with the job for his new trainer, although John Moore won’t be tempted to up the ante too quickly.

With five wins from eight starts in total, Magic Legend was the only three-year-old among entries for the upcoming Group I Chairman’s Sprint Prize on May 7, but Moore said he would prefer to take a more cautious approach and stick to handicaps.

“He won’t be going to the Group One, we will look for other options and let him climb through the grades,” Moore told South China Morning Post.

“He will stay in Class Two range after that and there is a 80-105 ratings band Class Two coming up on April 17. I like to let my horses progress without putting them in the deep end too early and that’s what we will do with this fellow. He has a very bright future.

“We’ve got a talent on our hands and we don’t want to waste it.”

A $50,000 Magic Millions purchase from the Element Hill draft, Magic Legend is from Trail of Secrets, who was purchased at the MM Broodmare Sale in 2015 for $150,000 by Paul Willetts Bloodstock on behalf of Three Bridges Thoroughbreds.

A half-sister by Secret Savings (USA) to Group I winning sprinter Gold Trail from stakes-winner Trail of Gold, Trail of Secrets has only had two foals to the races and both are smart winners with Magic Legend now showing the sort of ability that might ultimately earn him Black Type.

“It takes a very good horse to win three in a row in Hong Kong, so Magic Legend looks like a very smart horse in the making,” said Toby Liston.

“We purchased Trail Of Secrets because Paul Willetts had such a high opinion of the foals he had seen from her, so it’s an opinion that might just pay off.

“She has a super Unencumbered colt foal at foot and is back in foal to Unencumbered.”