As tempting as it must have been for owner Stanley Chan and trainer Francis Lui to take Golden Sixty to Japan for the G1 Yasuda Kinen (1600m) next month, in my view the owner and the trainer made the right decision by looking at all the factors and the interest of the horse has to come first and therefore they decided not to take up the invitation to go to Japan.
Travelling with horses is the ultimate challenge for trainers and you have to have a horse with a very good, calm temperament to succeed and while many of us would have loved to see him compete internationally, connections felt after an exhaustive G1 FWD Champions Mile that it would likely be one race too many for Golden Sixty to show his best, especially after he showed signs of mild heat stress last start.
Apart from taking on the very best horses in the world on their home track, Golden Sixty would also need to cope with the travel before settling into a new environment and then deal with pre-race requirements that are challenging.
It is a completely different pre-race arrangement in Japan, where there is a lengthy visit to a pre-parade walking ring and weighing procedures about 90 minutes before the race, followed by a long walk from the pre-parade ring through a tunnel to the parade ring.
Apart from that, the Yasuda Kinen is run on the left-handed Tokyo Racecourse track with a long straight rising the last 300m, which makes this a more demanding test than comparable races run at the same distance in Hong Kong and probably make it more like an 1800m race.
Taking all of this into account, Stanley and Francis decided to keep Golden Sixty in Hong Kong in preparation for next season and another tilt at the LONGINES HKIR, where hopefully he will test himself against international champions, including those from Japan.
The 70th meeting of the season is upon us at Happy Valley tonight and, like most things in Hong Kong, horse racing is no exception to the city’s frenetic pace.
With only 19 meetings left in the season, there is plenty at stake – notably the trainers and jockeys’ championships and also the Tony Cruz Award – as we approach the final G1 of the campaign with the Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2400m) at Sha Tin on 22 May.
Frankie Lor (70 wins) and John Size (69) remain locked in a contest too tight to call, Joao Moreira (114) and Zac Purton (109) are engaged in familiar battle, while Mathew Chadwick (41) leads Vincent Ho (37) in the contest for the Tony Cruz Award for the best homegrown rider.
After a total of 653 races this season, the tight margins underline the competitiveness of Hong Kong racing.
Away from the track, the stabilising COVID conditions have meant we have been able to change our Off-Course Betting Branch arrangements.
From 12 May, all OCBBs will open from 12nn to 8pm on non-racedays (12nn to 6pm on Monday), from 12nn to 9.15pm on Mark Six draw days, from 12nn to 6pm on the days of night race meeting and be closed on the days of day race meeting. During opening hours, customers can access all betting and customer services. Priority Zone and Media Hall will not open, and broadcast of horse races and football matches will not be available. Hopefully we can soon welcome back members of the public to the racecourses.
At Happy Valley on Wednesday night, the Kam Tim River Handicap is the Class 3 finale of our race meeting and will be run at a good to fast pace over 1200 metres. Wine And Wine will push forward from his outside draw under five-pound claimer Victor Wong to make the running with Goodluck Goodluck and jockey Derek Leung in close attendance. Wild West Wing with Vagner Borges and Yo Beauty with Alexis Badel will also be on the pace.
The race favourite Lucky Sweynesse will put his unbeaten record on the line and figures to get a nice run from just behind the leaders. He looked sharp winning his barrier trial two weeks ago when relaxing behind a slow tempo and then coming home with a strong closing sectional. I expect jockey Zac Purton to position him a bit further back than normal while still in striking position and make him a win and place chance. The track may be rain affected and Lucky Sweynesse won most recently on yielding ground.
Gluck Racer returned from an extended layoff to run well first up last month and jockey Matthew Chadwick may need to take him back from his tricky draw to avoid being caught wide. He did not trial before his last race and should be primed for a good effort in this second-up run. I make him a place chance.
Wine And Wine will need to work early to cross from his wide draw but is a place chance in his current form along with Astrologer, who drops in grade with Lyle Hewitson taking the ride.
Comment
