After months of meticulous planning and preparation, LONGINES Hong Kong International Raceday (HKIR) is almost here and the moment of destiny has arrived for the 45 world-class horses entered in the four G1 races at Sha Tin on Sunday, 11 December.
With entrants from Ireland, France, Germany, Singapore, Japan and Australia assembled to challenge Hong Kong’s finest equine athletes, I am delighted at the support we have received from overseas owners and I am also incredibly proud of the way the Club’s teams have worked so efficiently to enable us to present Hong Kong racing to the world on Sunday with four international G1 contests worth a record HK$110 million.
I deeply appreciate the trust of the HKSAR Government in allowing us to stage HKIR as we welcome back many of our loyal overseas connections, who have again shown their support with the quality of the horses they have sent to Hong Kong, along with visiting champion jockeys and trainers.
“Celebration of Champions” is an appropriate theme for HKIR – and it has never been more appropriate in an already memorable week.
The LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (7 December) was an unqualified success, played out in truly dramatic circumstances with Tom Marquand and Silvestre de Sousa tying the lucrative series. Heading into the fourth and last leg, the competition was so tight that multiple winning possibilities remained alive, including a four-way tie.
Silvestre’s inspired ride on Adios for Frankie Lor was sufficient to share victory with Tom on a night where Vincent Ho (a double at the meeting) and Derek Leung showcased Hong Kong’s riding talent as Hollie Doyle, Ryan Moore, Jamie Kah and Luke Currie all delivered.
On Friday night, we gathered for the LONGINES HKIR Gala Dinner to celebrate a spectacular week of racing and to recognise James McDonald with the 2022 LONGINES World’s Best Jockey Award for his nine wins in the world’s top 100 G1 races for the year.
James’ performance to add his name to an honour roll containing some of the greatest in our sport, including Frankie Dettori, Ryan Moore and Hugh Bowman, is testament to his tremendous prowess and determination.
Our attention now switches to Sha Tin where the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase is the first of the four Group 1 races on Sunday and will be run as Race 4 over 2400m. The race should be run at a good tempo with three-year-old Stone Age the likely leader from his rails draw with his stablemate Broome and Andre Fabre’s Botanik also likely to race on the lead.
Stone Age dropped in behind the pacemaker in the Breeders’ Cup Turf when beating all but Rebel’s Romance. He is a win and place chance if Ryan Moore can control the race from the front.
Win Marilyn has looked good on the track since arriving and has drawn ideally in gate three for Damian Lane. She was third to Jack d’Or and Panthalassa in the G2 Sapporo Kinen on 21 August before finishing second to Geraldina at G1 level over 2200m at her latest run. I make her a place chance.
Glory Vase won the Vase in 2019 and again last year and I also make him a place chance, along with Botanik, Senor Toba, who heads the local team with Vincent Ho aboard, and Bubble Gift.
The LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint is Race 5 and an open contest with the pace expected to be fast from the outset. Sight Success and Gendarme should drive forward from middle draws to contest the lead. Meikei Yell has drawn the outside gate and James McDonald is also likely to push forward and Singapore runner Lim’s Kosciuszko will race handy for Danny Beasley from gate four, ensuring early pressure in the race.
Resistencia ran second in the race last year and Joao Moreira will look to hold a forward position just off the lead from her rails draw. I make her a place chance again this year.
The fast pace sets the race up perfectly for emerging star Lucky Sweynesse. Zac Purton will be able to take up a position one off the rails stalking the leaders from gate three and he is a win and place chance.
Wellington for Ryan Moore and last year’s winner Sky Field, to be ridden by Blake Shinn, are both drawn out but will be running home strongly and I make them place chances.
The Japanese challenge is particularly strong and Gendarme and Naran Huleg are both G1 winners in Japan’s two main sprint races this year and have place claims.
The LONGINES Hong Kong Mile is Race 7 and has brought together an extraordinary field of world-class milers. The race will be run at a steady pace with natural front runner California Spangle drawn perfectly in gate two and Zac Purton will look to control the race from the front. Local runner Waikuku, who is contesting the race for the fourth consecutive year, is also likely to race on pace.
Golden Sixty is the highest-rated horse competing at the meeting with an international rating of 124 and Francis Lui’s superstar was brilliant when giving California Spangle 5lb and proving too good for his young challenger in the G2 BOCHK Private Wealth Jockey Club Mile on 20 November. Golden Sixty looks to have come through the testing first-up run in excellent condition and has been working well for Vincent Ho. I make Golden Sixty my clear first choice.
Zac Purton will look to steal a winning break in the straight on California Spangle and he is my second choice with strong challenges coming from Japanese runners Danon Scorpion and Schnell Meister, as well as Annabel Neasham’s Australian entrant Laws Of Indices, who will be ridden by James McDonald.
The LONGINES Hong Kong Cup is the world’s richest 2000m race on turf and it has attracted an outstanding field of world-class horses. It promises to be an exciting spectacle with aggressive front-runner Panthalassa setting a fast pace for Yutaka Yoshida. Money Catcher and Jack d’Or will lead the rest of the field early with Lei Papale prominent from her inside gate.
Panthalassa has become a cult figure with global racing fans, with his distinctive head gear at trackwork and exciting front running tactics in races that were on display in the Tenno Sho Autumn. In that race he set up a massive mid-race lead and held on to beat all but Equinox in a punishing contest and I make the five-year-old by Lord Kanaloa a place chance.
Jack d’Or defeated Panthalassa in the G2 Sapporo Kinen two starts back and was closing late when fourth to Equinox in the Tenno Sho. Jack d’Or has impressed everyone since arriving at Sha Tin and is a place chance for Yutaka Take.
The home team will be represented by Romantic Warrior, a Hong Kong International Sale Graduate, who won the BMW Hong Kong Derby and G1 FWD QEII Cup earlier in the year. Romantic Warrior was very impressive returning to racing and winning the BOCHK Jockey Club Cup on 20 November and I make him a win and place chance for James McDonald and Danny Shum.
In a field that exudes world-class equine talent, the other Japanese representatives DanonThe Kid, Geoglyph and Lei Papale all have claims as does Aidan O’Brien’s runner Order Of Australia, who will be closing late under Ryan Moore.
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