Macau star Wonder Mossman staked his claim for Horse of the Year honours with a Group 1 victory in the Macau Gold Cup (1800m) on Saturday, his fourth Stakes win.
Wonder Mossman (5g Mossman – Eighth Wonder by Danehill) led from the outset and then powered away for a four-length victory from NZ bred gelding Best Season (Bahhare). He was coming of a record-breaking win over 1500m at Taipa last month.
Bred by Gerry Harvey, Wonder Mossman was a Warwick Farm winner under the name Racing Eight before transferring to Macau trainer K C Chong.
Mossman got him from Eighth Wonder who retired a maiden after 6 starts for Harvey and trainer Guy Walter. She is a daughter of 1998 Melbourne Cup winning mare Jezabeel (Zabeel) and her most recent foal is a More Than Ready filly born last August.
Mossman will finish a career-high fifth on the Australian premiership in 2013-14 with three individual Gr.1 winners and earnings of $8.49 million. He has sired the winners of 18 stakes races this season here and others in South Africa, New Zealand as well as Macau.
Vinery stands him for $27,500 (inc gst) this year which is a cut-price fee compared to the four stallions above him – Redoute’s Choice ($110,000), Snitzel ($71,500), Exceed And Excel ($110,000) and Fastnet Rock ($275,000+).
Testa Rossa colt Good Master started a successful weekend for Vinery in Macau winning the LR Lisboa Challenge (1350m) on Friday. “He has been a model of consistency all the way through,” trainer Gary Moore said. “You don’t see many horses set a speed like that then have a kick at the end to run a new class record.”
