Britannia fourth Whoputfiftyinyou set to join Cruz

The three-year-old joins Thesis as the latest graduates out of the Royal Ascot handicap bound for Hong Kong.

Whoputafiftyinyou wins at Haydock in May. (Photo by Richard Sellers/PA Images via Getty Images)

Tony Cruz is set to train Whoputfifytyinyou when the Britannia Stakes fourth makes the switch to Hong Kong later this year after being bought for an undisclosed sum via agent George Moore.

Moore has already snared the Group One South Australian Derby winner Jungle Magnate from Australia and that rising four-year-old is also bound for the Cruz stable to race in the Beauty Generation silks of Patrick Kwok. Whoputfiftyinyou’s new owner is as-yet unnamed.

The Twilight Son three-year-old is the latest purchase out of the perennial source of Hong Kong imports, the Britannia Stakes at Royal Ascot. Earlier this week, it was reported that this year’s Britannia winner Thesis had also been sold to an unnamed Hong Kong owner for an undisclosed fee. Thesis seems destined for the Richard Gibson stable on the back of the trainer’s Group One-winning campaign with the Cheng family’s star sprinter Wellington.

A ballpark value for a Britannia winner is considered to be upwards of £1 million (AU$1.74 million).

Moore was taken with Whoputfiftyinyou when the chestnut won his first four races for trainer Clive Cox. The horse confirmed that promise when a smart fourth in the Britannia, a length and three quarters behind Thesis, to whom he conceded eight pounds. That form was franked when the third home, Jimi Hendrix, won a Class 2 handicap at Newmarket next time.

“I felt that the form of Whoputfiftyinyou going into the Britannia was the best. He came off four wins, unbeaten, and he is proven on good to firm ground,” Moore told Asian Racing Report.

“I try to buy horses carrying weight, higher up the handicap, and he was up there carrying more weight than the winner. He’s also a good-looking horse and we’ve bought horses previously from Clive Cox, we know he’s a good trainer to buy from, he looks after his horses and lets them hit their stride when they’re ready, so I would expect there’ll be upside in this horse.”

Cox has a history of selling good prospects to Hong Kong, notably Xtension who won the Group One Champions Mile two years in a row for Moore’s father John Moore. Cox and Whoputfiftyinyou’s previous owners Paul and Clare Rooney sold Crack On Crack On out of the 2018 Britannia to race for the Moore stable under the Wong family ownership when renamed Sunny Speed.

“Crack On Crack On came third in the Hong Kong Derby at only his third start in Hong Kong, storming home, and if he hadn’t picked up an injury, he’d have been a very good horse in Hong Kong,” Moore continued. “We’ve had good experiences buying off Clive and buying off the owners, so we have that confidence and that’s an important factor as well.”

Whoputfiftyinyou has already been gelded and will enter quarantine in a couple of weeks’ time with the plan being to join the September shipment of imports to Hong Kong.  

Between 2013 and 2021, 30 horses were sold to Hong Kong after contesting the Britannia: 22 of those horses won at least one race after import. Three of those were Britannia winners: Roca Tumu, who was Group One-placed in Hong Kong for Cruz when named Beauty Flame; Defrocked, otherwise known as the enigmatic Limitless, a two-time winner for Caspar Fownes; and Born In Bombay, renamed Born In China, who won four of 35 races and was Group-placed in Hong Kong.

Other notable imports from the Britannia are the Moore-trained Group Three winners Harbour Master and Booming Delight, the Frankie Lor-trained Group One Champions Mile third Simply Brilliant and his fellow Group Three winner Packing Llaregyb.

Four horses were sold to Hong Kong after the 2021 Britannia, and, so far, Turin Redsun – sixth at Ascot when named Mithras – is the pick. Douglas Whyte’s charge placed second in the Hong Kong Classic Cup in February before earning a breakthrough win at the ninth attempt at the 2021-22 Hong Kong season finale.

The Rooneys also sold the horse now known as Copartner Elites, trained by Thesis’ former handlers Harry and Roger Charlton to place second in the 2021 Britannia when named Beautiful Bertie. The four-year-old is yet to win after six starts in Hong Kong for the Danny Shum stable. 

SHARE