Reward For Effort 

Australian-bred Gem Eagle (Reward For Effort) made it two wins from as many starts in Macau with a gutsy effort in Sunday’s feature Racing Journalist’s Cup (1050m) on the sand.

Ridden by Mauritian rider Akash Aucharuz, Gem Eagle had to dig deep to fend off Speed On (Coats Choice) by three quarters of a length, with Brave Flying Hawk (Chateau Istana) a further length and three quarters adrift in third.

Gem Eagle had surprised connections at his first run in Macau when he showed good speed to lead throughout when beating a competitive Class Two & Three field over 1050 metres on the sand in June, running close to a record time in the process.

Gem Eagle

The son of Reward For Effort went one better on Sunday, with his win clocking 1:01.5, shaving one tenth of a second off the class record held by his stablemate Gem Soldier.

The three-year-old commenced his racing career in Victoria with Colin and Cindy Alderson under the name of Doin’ The Deed where he won at Cranbourne over 1500 metres on turf. However, with the American influence in his breeding, he has emerged as a new sand star in Macau.

“He’s a very nice horse and he has a big future here”/ Aucharuz said.

“He’s still very green and still learning all about it, like wanting to hang and make things difficult for himself.

“If you watched his trackwork you wouldn’t put one dollar on him, but he is a different horse come race day”.