And so, as we bade farewell to an unforgettable 2022, the New Year is upon us as we enter what shapes as another highly exciting phase in Hong Kong racing.
The passing of the old year and the arrival of the new always brings with it anticipation and the opportunity for reflection – and it is clear there is much we have to be grateful for after the first 31 meetings of an already momentous 2022/23 season.
From a performance perspective, Hong Kong has already enjoyed a string of horseracing highlights – none more memorable than the combined brilliance of Win Marilyn (LONGINES Hong Kong Vase), Wellington (LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint), California Spangle (LONGINES Hong Kong Mile) and Romantic Warrior (LONGINES Hong Kong Cup) on 11 December.
By any measure, the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) was an unqualified success and I remain especially proud of the efforts of all involved – owners, trainers, jockeys and Club staff – and grateful to the Hong Kong Government for allowing us to stage a truly outstanding international event.
As well as Golden Sixty, who was magnificent in defeat at LONGINES HKIR and remains Hong Kong’s equal top-rated horse, the advances made by Romantic Warrior and California Spangle in 2022, along with Wellington’s stunning Group 1 achievements, are something Hong Kong racing can rightly celebrate.
Romantic Warrior’s rise from unraced Hong Kong International Sale graduate to dual Group 1 winner, along with the BMW Hong Kong Derby and Hong Kong Classic Mile, has been extraordinary and his performance to annihilate quality opposition in the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup consolidated his standing as a world-class 2000m performer.
California Spangle’s emergence has been similarly spectacular and his three duels so far with Golden Sixty have lived up to expectations, while Wellington continues to excel for Richard Gibson.
Additionally, the top echelon of the 2022/23 trainers’ championship is a reminder of how competitive Hong Kong racing is with a range of just 10 wins spanning the top 10 trainers – Frankie Lor (25), Tony Cruz (24), John Size (23), Francis Lui (22), Caspar Fownes (19), Danny Shum (18), Pierre Ng (18), Ricky Yiu (17), Benno Yung (16) and David Hayes (15).
With our jockeys, Zac Purton is a runaway leader with 70 wins in the championship after an outstanding start to the campaign, leading Vincent Ho (30), Silvestre de Sousa (23), Matthew Chadwick (17), Lyle Hewitson (16), Derek Leung (13) and Karis Teetan (13).
Zac’s effort to ride his 1,500th winner last weekend on Handsome Twelve is an astonishing feat and it was a pleasure to acknowledge the achievement with a special presentation at Happy Valley on Wednesday night. It was also tremendous to see Karis continue his comeback from illness with a treble, while Vincent remains the most successful jockey at Happy Valley this season with a double.
The atmosphere generated at Happy Valley on Wednesday night was a fitting way to celebrate the final race meeting of 2022. The Wednesday night vibe, with the Beer Garden and live music performances, is building up again and it was clear how much our customers enjoyed the experience.
Happy Valley is one of the most iconic racetracks in the world, set against the incredible Hong Kong skyline, and it is wonderful to see so many casual racing fans flocking to the rail to enjoy the thrill of night racing at such a unique racecourse.
We start the New Year at Sha Tin on Sunday, when the Group 3 Chinese Club Centenary Cup Handicap is carded as Race 8 at 4:05pm, to be run over 1400m for prize money of $3.9 million.
A good to slow pace is expected to be set by Healthy Happy, who has drawn gate five. Lucky Sweynesse can lead but doesn’t have to and from his draw Zac Purton will be happy to sit outside the leader on top of a tempo that is likely to be only moderate.
The pace is not likely to favour Beauty Joy and the draw in gate one might also not suit him with Hugh Bowman, who could have a difficult task to get him relaxed and not pulling, especially in the small field – which means for betting, only the first two horses are eligible for a place – and, with the moderate pace, makes this a challenging race to predict the outcome of.
Lucky Sweynesse is a rising star who was brilliant in winning the G2 Jockey Club Sprint (1200m) on 20 November when he sat midfield and sprinted quickly in the straight to win comfortably. He started a short-priced favourite in the LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) but ended up on the rail from gate three without racing room and without luck in the straight, finishing sixth to Wellington when beaten two and a half lengths. His performance over this course and distance on 5 June was good as he ran the last 400m in 22.35s. Zac will look to take luck out of the equation here and, despite carrying joint top weight of 135lb, Lucky Sweynesse is my clear win and place selection even under the handicap conditions.
My favourite among the other horses with claims is Blaze Warrior who is working well and in good form. He was narrowly beaten by Beluga in the Panasonic Cup over this trip on 12 November and at his next start settled three-wide in the back half of the field, running home strongly to win impressively from Beauty Live on 11 December over this course and distance. Karis Teetan is riding in great form and from gate four, I make Blaze Warrior a place chance.
Healthy Happy won this race last year when racing on speed for Alexis Badel. He chased home California Spangle when runner-up in the Celebration Cup before leading and fading to sixth behind Beluga in the Panasonic Cup at his latest run on 12 November. Since then, he has spent time in Conghua and he drops significantly in weight from his last start. If Silvestre de Sousa gets an easy lead, I make Healthy Happy my second choice for a place chance.
The other two runners in the race are Fantastic Treasure and The Golden Scenery who are both racing well and have a weight advantage over their rivals in a small field that nevertheless will be an exciting contest for racing fans to enjoy.
We have some rising stars in Race 9 when Beauty Eternal, trained by John Size and ridden by Zac Purton, returns and while it is only a Class 3 over 1200m, he is for me one of the very good four-year-olds with the potential to participate in Group races at a later stage. The Hong Kong Classic Mile will be too early for him and it is not known yet what will be his best distance but this doesn’t apply for some exciting four-year-olds in the last race of the day – the Flame Tree Handicap – which is a Class 3 over 1400m in which we have eight horses fighting to qualify for the Hong Kong Classic Mile, which is run on 29 January.
While some of the PPs still have to acclimatise like The Best Peach and Nordic Star, I expect a good performance from Straight Arron who is trained by David Hayes and is the choice of Zac Purton and a Group 3 winner over 1600m in Australia, as well as Tourbillon Prince, being second in a Group 2 over 2400m in Australia and trained by Caspar Fownes and ridden by Harry Bentley.
They may need the run and the last time winner Super Sunny Sing, who is a PPG and will be ridden by Vincent Ho and is trained by Chris So, will give them a run for their money.
Comment
