Sunday was a good day for Pakistan Star and an even better one for his trainer, Tony Cruz. Pakistan Star led a Cruz sweep of the top three placings in the Group 1, $1,274,600 Standard Charter Champions and Chater Cup, and earlier on the Sha Tin card in Hong Kong the Cruz-trained Winner’s Way won the Group 3 Sha Tin Vase. If Point A was Pakistan Star’s head-turning talent on display at the start of his Hong Kong career, and Point B was a fulfilment of that potential, then yes, Pakistan Star has gone from Point A to Point B. The journey, however, has included several interim points his connections would prefer not to have visited. Pakistan Star always has been a mercurial sort, but he took things to a new level late last season when he pulled himself up not long after the start of a Sha Tin race and refused to go. This happened several times and it wasn’t until early this year that Pakistan Star conducted himself with enough reliability during morning work that stewards approved his return to racing. Pakistan Star returned in February but wasn’t really all the way back. Three times he finished fourth before running the race of his life April 29, winning the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes by three lengths. Sunday’s start was Pakistan Star’s first beyond 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles), but the German-bred gelding had no trouble seeing out the trip. Racing second in just a five-horse field as Exultant cut out the pace, Pakistan Star and jockey Tommy Berry attacked at the top of the stretch, collared Exultant with about 300 meters left to race, and pulled slowly clear to win by 1 3/4 lengths, stopping the timer in 2:27.42 for the 2,400 meters (about 1 1/2 miles). Exultant clearly was second as Cruz’s third horse, Gold Mount, ran late for third. Pakistan Star, a German-bred 5-year-old gelding, is by Sharmadal out of Nina Celebre, by Peintre Celebre, and Cruz said he is done racing until the 2018 – 2019 Hong Kong season commences in the fall. Four races earlier, Winner’s Way broke a long losing streak winning the 1,200-meter Sha Tin Vase by one length, Zac Purton riding for Cruz. Born in China finished second, Fabulous One was third, and one-time Hong Kong sprint star Lucky Bubbles continued his slide, finishing last. >