SHA TIN, Hong Kong – Superstar Japanese filly Almond Eye picked a bad time to get a little sick and had to miss the Hong Kong Cup, but the Cup, anchor of the Hong Kong International race card, delivered a feverish finish in her absence.

The Japanese horse Win Bright is no Almond Eye, but Sunday at Sha Tin he was strong, brave, and a head better than Magic Wand, the world-traveling Ireland-based filly who lost little in defeat.

Win Bright came into the Cup following ninth and eighth place finishes this fall in Japan, but he overcame a difficult trip Sunday to cap a day of Japanese domination. Before Win Bright’s victory in the Group 1, $3.58 million Cup, Japan-based Glory Vase shattered his rivals in the Hong Kong Vase and 3-year-old Admire Mars upset Hong Kong’s best milers, Waikuku and Beauty Generation, in the Hong Kong Mile.

It was Japan’s finest hour in Hong Kong racing since 2001, when three Japanese horses won the same races, including a Vase victory by Stay Gold, who was bred to the Admire Cozzene mare Summer Eternity to produce the foal that would be named Win Bright.

Win Bright ($12.80) has a special fondness for Sha Tin, having come here last spring and set a 2000-meter Sha Tin course record posting a major upset in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup. His jockey, Masami Matsuoka, said Win Bright likes right-handed courses like Sha Tin’s, but until his head hit the finish just in front of Magic Wand’s, not a lot of things went right for Win Bright in the Cup.

Breaking from the outside post in a field of eight. Win Bright came dimly out of the gate, his sluggish start forcing Matsuoka three wide into the first turn, which comes up shortly after the start of 2000-meter races here. Matsuoka deftly guided his mount over to the no. 2 path midway around the bend, but then was stuck in relative no-man’s land as full brothers Time Warp, who led, and Glorious Forever, who pressed, jabbed on the front end. Win Bright held his position around the far turn, fanned three paths wide past the 500-meter mark, and was put to a full drive – well before any of his rivals – at the 400-meters. He responded, going hard after Time Warp and Glorious Forever, and in so doing making things tight for Magic Wand.  

Magic Wand has travelled more than 60,000 miles this year (and still, presumably, must fly back to Ireland) while delivering high-level performances in Europe, America, and Australia. None of those trips could’ve been smoother than the one she pulled in the Cup – until the 300-meter mark. Magic Wand and Ryan Moore cleaved to the fence just behind the leaders down the backstretch and around the far turn, but Moore saw the rail wasn’t going to open up after coming into the stretch and jigged left, looking for room, finding his mount hemmed in by Win Bright. There was a slender gap, but Magic Wand in the end might be more a 1 1/2 -mile horse than one ideally suited to 1 ¼ miles, and she wasn’t quite quick enough to slip through before Win Bright went clear a furlong out and got the jump on her. Moore than dove back down to the inside and Magic Wand came hard at Win Bright – but the wire came first.

Win Bright, owned by Win Co Ltd, was timed in 2:00.52 for the 2000 meters over a firm course. Rise High loomed at the 300-meter mark like he might go right past Win Bright and on to Cup glory, but he flattened the final half-furlong and finished third. Then came Furore, co-favored with Win Bright at 3.1-1, Edisa, Glorious Forever, Dark Dream (who was stopped cold in mid-stretch), and a tired Time Warp.

Win Bright has zero Group 1 wins in Japan, but the performances of the Japanese horses Sunday at Sha Tin showed there is no shame in that. Here in Hong Kong he already has two, and a return call in the QE II beckons. Win Bright’s connections said their horse’s condition improved this week in Hong Kong, and no international shipper looked better training here this week. A return run in the QE II this April seems like a bright idea.