Eagle Way back quick in Queen Mother Memorial Cup

The races are arriving quickly this spring for Eagle Way, the two-time stakes winner in Hong Kong.

Last Sunday, Eagle Way was third in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at 1 1/4 miles at Sha Tin Racecourse. This Sunday, Eagle Way will start favored in the Group 3 Queen Mother Memorial Cup at 1 1/2 miles at Sha Tin.

Trainer John Moore said before the $3.059 million Queen Elizabeth that the two races were on Eagle Way’s agenda, provided the 5-year-old Australian-bred gelding recovered quickly from last week’s race.

“He’s come through the run terrific,” Moore told Hong Kong publicity earlier this week. “He’s eaten up, he’s very healthy, and I couldn’t be happier.”

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Moore is quick to point that Eagle Way would not have threatened Queen Elizabeth II Cup winner Pakistan Star, who pulled clear in the final furlong by three lengths.

“The run itself was really good,” Moore said. “He got blocked a couple of times on the turn. If he didn’t, I think he might have run second.”

Eagle Way is the 133-pound highweight in the Queen Mother Memorial Cup, a handicap he won in 2017. A winner of 7 of 28 starts in a career that began in Australia, Eagle Way is something of a standout.

The race drew a field of eight, including Exultant, who was third in the Hong Kong Derby for 4-year-olds on March 18; and Prawn Baba, who beat Exultant in a minor handicap at 1 3/8 miles at Sha Tin on April 15.

Exultant, who was favored on April 15, is second in the weights at 121 pounds, six more than Prawn Baba.

Exultant, an Irish-bred colt by Teofilo, was third in the Group 1 Irish 2000 Guineas in 2017 when racing under the name Irishcorrespondent. Horses frequently have their names changed when they begin racing in Hong Kong. Trained by Tony Cruz, Exultant has one win in seven starts in Hong Kong.

Prawn Baba, trained by John Size, has won 3 of 23 starts in Hong Kong and 5 of 25 starts in his career. Prawn Baba, a 5-year-old Australian-bred gelding, was fifth behind Eagle Way in the 2017 Queen Mother Memorial Cup.

Moore, the winningest trainer in Hong Kong history, has won four of the last six runnings of the Queen Mother Memorial Cup.