With the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) only seven weeks away, the G2 Premier Bowl Handicap (1200m) at Sha Tin tomorrow shapes as a key lead-in race to the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) on 11 December.
A very competitive and high-quality field is headed by Hong Kong Champion Sprinter Wellington, last year’s LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint winner Sky Field and fellow G1 winner Stronger, along with some very exciting up-and-coming younger horses, such as Lucky Sweynesse and Cordyceps Six.
At the close of entries for international horses in the LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint last Monday (17 October), we received 35 nominations from Australia, Japan, Great Britain, the United States, Ireland and Singapore, including 13 Group 1 winners.
With horses such as the world’s top-ranked sprinter Nature Strip, Kinross, Eduardo, Gendarme, Resistencia and Giga Kick among the entry, the performances of Hong Kong sprinters tomorrow will be thoroughly assessed.
Time rarely stands still in Hong Kong and so it is with horseracing and in particular Zac Purton.
Having already banked 1,458 Hong Kong wins, Zac has opened the 2022/23 season at a frenetic pace. After 12 meetings, and even allowing for the mitigating circumstances surrounding the current absence of Joao Moreira and Karis Teetan, Zac’s effort to ride 27 winners from 105 rides is remarkable.
With a winning strike rate of 25.71% this term, Zac has broken Joao’s record of 25 winners set in the corresponding period in 2019/20 – and also eclipsing his own feat last season to ride 25 winners in the first 12 meetings of 2021/22.
As a five-time Hong Kong champion jockey, Zac has already outlined his ambition to better Joao’s record of 170 winners in a single season, set in 2016/17. At his current rate, Zac is averaging 2.25 winners a meeting. If he were to maintain the strike rate across the remaining 76 meetings – which is a huge ask – he would overtake Joao’s towering mark for the most wins in season.
Time will tell but with the season still unfolding, Vincent Ho and Matthew Chadwick continue to go from strength to strength. Vincent is outright second in the championship with 12 wins after a double at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (19 October) and it is evident he has benefited from his short riding stint in Japan during our off-season.
Matthew, who won last season’s Tony Cruz Award for the best home-grown rider and is continuing the form this term after a Happy Valley double, currently has seven wins along with Silvestre De Sousa and Alexis Badel, and only one victory behind Lyle Hewitson.
Positive media reaction regarding the entry for LONGINES HKIR was in many ways predictable given the absolute level of quality and quantity of the 43 individual Group 1 winners included in the 127 nominated for the 11 December showcase.
I look forward to the completion of entries on Monday (24 October) when LONGINES HKIR nominations close for Hong Kong’s premier horses. Behind the scenes, the hard work and organisation has been underway for months and we are excited to stage this key global racing event with the support of international and local connections and also the Hong Kong Government.
At Sha Tin on Sunday, the Premier Bowl Handicap over 1200m is carded as race eight and represents an outstanding edition of the Group 2 feature as our best sprinters ready for the challenge from overseas stars on LONGINES HKIR Day on 11 December.
Lucky Sweynesse, last season’s Hong Kong Champion Griffin, continued his surge to superstar status with a dominant victory in the Class 1 HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup Handicap (1200m) on 11 September, showing brilliant acceleration to sprint away from his rivals and win by a big margin.
Trainer Manfred Man has Zac Purton back aboard today with the 9lb rise in weight. This field is the biggest challenge of Lucky Sweynesse’s career so far, a challenge made harder by a wide gate, but Zac should be able to take up a good position near the lead, following across speed runners drawn on his inside and is a win and place chance.
Established star Wellington finished last season on a high, posting a winning hat-trick when taking the G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m) in April. Hong Kong’s highest-rated sprinter moves from a victory at set weights to handicap conditions today and is giving weight to all his rivals. Wellington makes his seasonal reappearance off the back of an impressive barrier trial and is a definite place chance from a middle draw, which should allow Alexis Badel to take up a perfect position on settling.
With Alexis aboard Wellington, Richard Gibson has given the ride on his other entry Cordyceps Six to Lyle Hewitson. After winning five times last season, Cordyceps Six resumed with a close second to Super Wealthy over the straight 1000m course in the G3 National Day Cup Handicap on 1 October and is a place chance again.
No doubt the race will be run at high speed with Courier Wonder, Computer Patch and Lucky Sweynesse all likely to push on from their wide gates to race on the lead. This should suit Sky Field who has an ideal draw in gate four for Keith Yeung. Last year’s LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint winner is a place chance as he continues his quest to defend his title against the best sprinters from Hong Kong and around the globe on 11 December.
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