Massive Sovereign burst onto the scene earlier this month and Zac Purton believes the Irish-bred’s ability to quickly adapt to different circumstances can prove decisive in Sunday’s (24 March) HK$26 million 147th BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) at Sha Tin.
The four-year-old demolished a solid Class 3 field on debut in Hong Kong over this weekend’s course and distance. He’ll make just his second start in the city when he lines up in Sha Tin’s most-famed and desired contest after arriving as a two-time winner in Ireland for trainer Aidan O’Brien.
“What he has got going for him is his temperament, he’s just a lovely horse to do anything with – he’s very relaxed and he takes everything in his stride,” Purton said.
Formerly known as Broadhurst but now trained by Dennis Yip, Massive Sovereign made light work of 13 rivals at Sha Tin on 3 March – who between them had combined for 23 wins in Hong Kong – to surge into BMW Hong Kong Derby calculations.
“I think it’s going to work in his favour that he has already had a run over the 2000 metres because he knows where the barriers are and he knows what the crowd is going to do. He’s already had that experience and a lot of horses on Derby Day can get a bit wound up by the crowd at the start. So, he’s had the benefit of going through that process already,” Purton said.
The BMW Hong Kong Derby fixture regularly draws a crowd of over 50,000 at Sha Tin.