One of the most fascinating aspects of every Hong Kong season is monitoring the progress of horses who have competed in the Four-Year-Old Classic Series and 2022/23 is no different.
Across recent seasons, we have followed the advances of Golden Sixty, Romantic Warrior and California Spangle with growing interest, especially with their rise from four-year-old glories to Group 1 champions.
This season’s crop also shapes as being strong beyond the Four-Year-Old Classic Series – the Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m), Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m) and BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) – which has become an unerring marker for future achievements.
Voyage Bubble’s success in the Mile and Derby was followed with a fourth in the G1 FWD Champions Mile (1600m) behind Golden Sixty, Beauty Joy and California Spangle after covering ground as he continued a march in the handicaps from 74 at the start of the season to 108 for Ricky Yiu.
Two of the four horses who finished immediately behind Voyage Bubble in the BMW Hong Kong Derby – Straight Arron and Beauty Eternal – have shown immense talent with subsequent wins, while Derby runner-up Tuchel is among several Classic runners who are also shaping promisingly.
Straight Arron’s win in the G3 Queen Mother Memorial Handicap (2400m) showcased his rich staying potential as he beat Derby sixth place-getter Sword Point by a neck in demanding conditions on soft ground last Sunday, as well as Group 1 winners Russian Emperor and Panfield. After arriving in Hong Kong as a 77-rater, he is now at 102 in the handicap.
Beauty Eternal, who was third in the Derby, has always shown tremendous ability and he could prove to be of the highest quality over 1400m to 1600m as his career unfolds and I look forward to him running in the Class 1 Hong Kong Macau Trophy Handicap (1400m) at Sha Tin on Saturday (13 May).
I would also like to welcome the connections of the three Macau horses – Star Of Yiu Cheung, Out To Win and Fifer – running in this weekend’s feature race with their presence adding another dimension.
The season continues at Sha Tin on Wednesday night, when the Sha Tin Heights Handicap is carded as Race 8 for Class 2 horses over 1650m at 10.50pm with prizemoney of HK$2.9 million. It brings together a competitive field where emerging four-year-olds Galaxy Witness and Hava Nageela take on seasoned performers in good form on the All-Weather Track, making for an interesting conclusion to the meeting.
The pace in the race will be good with natural leader True Legend drawn well in gate three setting the pace. As they run to the first turn, on pace runners Champion Dragon and Chancheng Prince, who have both drawn wide, will push forward to be near the leading division, with Everyone’s Delight, who has gate two, on the leader’s back.
Galaxy Witness ran fifth in the Hong Kong Classic Mile and third in the Hong Kong Classic Cup before running tenth in the BMW Hong Kong Derby. Galaxy Witness settled midfield then but got shuffled back before the turn and ran home fairly over the 2000m to be beaten four and a half lengths. Caspar Fownes has had Galaxy Witness in Conghua since that run and he has trialled well on this surface since returning. He was placed over 1200m earlier in the season at his only race start on the surface and I make him a win and place chance for Vincent Ho.
Hava Nageela is another talented four-year-old who has won his last two starts over this course and distance and most recently sat outside the leader before coming away for an easy win over Erimo on 23 April. Silvestre de Sousa takes the ride again and should have Hava Nageela in a perfect position from gate five and is a place chance despite rising in class.
Everyone’s Delight was a narrow winner over this course and distance on 5 March when Handsome Twelve, Apache Pass and Chancheng Prince all finished within half a length of the winner.
In that race, Handsome Twelve stormed home from the back of the field and Jerry Chau had to change course in the final 150m to make his run and he was a little unlucky to be narrowly beaten by Everyone’s Delight. Handsome Twelve is a three-time winner at the course and distance this season and is a place chance again.
Apache Pass was a close third in that race, when finishing off strongly in the concluding stages. Apache Pass has finished in the top three at his last eight runs at this course and distance, winning three times last season. He is remarkably consistent and with Zac Purton taking the ride for the first time on the horse he is a place chance.
This is a very deep race where virtually all twelve runners have shown the ability to be in the placings on their best form, in an excellent race to finish tonight’s racing.
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