NOTHINGILIKEMORE

19th February 2017

There were comparisons being drawn between one of Price Bloodstock’s Hall Of Famers, Contentment, and its budding star Nothingilikemore after the three-year-old clobbered a handy field in his first attempt at Class Three on Sunday at Sha Tin.

At his debut, Nothingilikemore had been slow away and outpaced over 1,200m, getting well back before launching a big finish to win easily and drawing rave reviews but on Sunday he came out fast, led and won by an much bigger margin despite rising in class. One journalist suggested to trainer John Size that Contentment had done the same – slow away and running on to win his first start then leading all the way at his second – on the way to becoming one of Hong Kong’s Group One sprinter-milers.

And there was a distinct feeling in the media pack that Nothingilikemore was headed in the same upward direction, something Size and jockey Joao Moreira weren’t putting a lid on after a hollow five-length win.

“He has a lot of scope. Horses here in Hong Kong just don’t do that – win first-up in Class Four, go to Class Three and win by five lengths. You never see it,” Size said. “When Ryan Moore rode him first-up, he said the horse bumped the side of the gate at the start, which is why he got so far back. But, in a fast-run 1,200m, it probably worked in his favour. Today, he jumped and ran like he had been doing at the trials and when he looked like he could lead, Joao went on with it.”

Moreira was also singing the praises of the son of Husson, adding his own name to the horse’s name.

“I think he should be called Nothingilikemoreira,” he said. “He’s a lovely horse for the future. One of the things John always says to me is, that if the horse wins the start not to pull him back because that is wasting the energy that it took to get there. So when he jumped so well today, I kept going forward and Nothingilikemore was able to lead and travel really well.”