Pride gets her Vengeance in career finale

Pride (inside) drew upon all her courage to deny Admire Moon (Frank Sorge/Horsephotos.com)

In last year’s Hong Kong Cup (HK-G1), the top French mare PRIDE (Peintre
Celebre) staged a furious rally and just missed by a neck to local superstar
Vengeance of Rain (Zabeel). Making her career finale in Sunday’s renewal of the
HK$20 million prize, Pride delivered her challenge earlier in the straight,
overhauled Vengeance of Rain and had just enough left to hold off Japanese
sophomore Admire Moon (End Sweep) by a short head at the wire. The Alain de
Royer-Dupre trainee stopped the teletimer in 2:01.6 for 1 1/4 miles on the
good-to-firm turf at Sha Tin to bow out in style.

Jockey Christophe Lemaire was content to drop Pride back to last in the
opening stages as High Intelligent (Anabaa) set a pressured pace. Although the
leader’s splits of :26, :50.2 and 1:15 were tepid, he was hounded throughout by
Australian shipper Growl (Montjeu [Ire]). Drafting just behind the sparring pair
were Hello Pretty (Distorted Humor) and Viva Pataca (Marju), with defending
champion Vengeance of Rain striding comfortably in fifth.

Hong Kong’s skyscrapers framed a thrilling Cup finish (Photo courtesy of Hong Kong Jockey Club)

Like two other major contests on Sunday’s Hong Kong International Race Day
program, however, the final sixteenth produced high drama. Admire Moon suddenly
found his best stride beneath Yutaka Take, and the three-year-old colt rapidly
caught up to the veteran mare. Pride’s stretch kick has historically been lethal
but short-lived, and so it proved here. Although she began to tread water
approaching the line, and her younger assailant flew ever nearer, she bravely
stuck out her neck and reached forward with all she had. That unflinching effort
in the dying strides saved the victory.

“Unfortunately, we had to come a little bit early,” Lemaire said of his trip.
“She has a great turn of foot, but her run is quite short, so she was stopping a
bit for me at the end, and I was frightened we might get caught. She has that
very
special fighting spirit (and) that got her home.”

“It was a great win today,” owner Sven Hanson said, “but that is definitely
the end of her career. Enough is enough. I don’t want to take any more risks.”

Pride (inside) ended her career on a high note (Photo courtesy of Hong Kong Jockey Club)

Earlier this week, De Royer-Dupre compared the later-developing Pride to a
fine Bordeaux that improves with age, and his analogy is apt. During her
four-year-old campaign in 2004, she took the Prix du Conseil de Paris (Fr-G2)
and Prix Allez France (Fr-G3) while placing in the Prix Vermeille (Fr-G1), Prix
Jean Romanet (Fr-G2) and Prix Corrida (Fr-G2). Pride was better still in 2005,
capturing the Prix Jean Romanet and Prix Foy (Fr-G2) and recording close runner-up
efforts in the Champion S. (Eng-G1) and Hong Kong Cup. On the strength of those
performances, she ranked as the highweight older mare in England at 9 1/2 to 11
furlongs.

Pride has reached the peak of her powers as a six-year-old this season. She
garnered the Prix Corrida, upset Hurricane Run (Ire) (Montjeu [Ire]) in the Grand
Prix de Saint-Cloud (Fr-G1), just missed by a neck in the Prix de l’Arc de
Triomphe (Fr-G1) and finally earned the Group 1 prizes that had
previously eluded her, romping in the Champion S. at Newmarket and now claiming
the Hong Kong Cup. She retires to the breeding shed with a mark of 26-9-5-4, eight of those
coming in group events, and a bankroll totaling HK$30 million.