These are momentous times for Hong Kong racing as history beckons for Zac Purton while Sha Tin stages a prestigious Group 1 doubleheader this Sunday (19 January) with the running of the HK$13 million G1 Centenary Sprint Cup (1200m) and the HK$13 million G1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m).
This meeting not only features Hong Kong’s premier sprinters and milers with the presence of six individual Group 1 winners – KA YING RISING, VICTOR THE WINNER and INVINCIBLE SAGE in the Centenary Cup Sprint and VOYAGE BUBBLE, CALIFORNIA SPANGLE and BEAUTY ETERNAL in the Stewards’ Cup – but it also carries the potential of watching Zac summit one of the highest mountains in horse racing.
Fittingly, Zac’s pursuit of Douglas Whyte’s record continues in the presence this weekend of elite international Group 1-winning riders James McDonald, Blake Shinn and Craig Williams, who will further bolster Hong Kong’s world-class jockey ranks at one of the most important days of the season.
Douglas’ record of 1,813 wins has stood since February, 2019 and serves as a reminder of the ‘Durban Demon’s’ phenomenal excellence and consistency as the winner of 13 consecutive Hong Kong jockeys’ championships.
Zac’s absolute commitment to discipline and professionalism is the ultimate compliment to Douglas and with 1,810 Hong Kong victories, including 70 this season, Zac needs three more wins to draw level with Doug and four to claim an incredible piece of Hong Kong history.
We are indeed privileged to have seen the career crossover of these two champion jockeys – along with others – in Hong Kong with Zac’s arrival in 2008/09 and the memories of their stirring battles on the track will always remain vivid.
Zac has seven rides at Sha Tin tomorrow, including the prized mount on Ka Ying Rising and, at 42, he is riding at the peak of his powers and leads the 2024/25 Hong Kong jockeys’ championship by 37 wins from Hugh Bowman (33).
From an equine talent perspective, we are extremely fortunate to have horses of the calibre of KA YING RISING and VOYAGE BUBBLE in action this weekend. They are rated joint-third in Hong Kong on a mark of 128 with only ROMANTIC WARRIOR (134) and LUCKY SWEYNESSE (130) ahead of them and they are among the very best horses in the world.
Gentlemen’s Raceday tomorrow is one of the most stylish days on the Hong Kong racing calendar as guests don their most elegant attire while enjoying wonderful sporting competition. The off-track entertainment is highlighted by singer Gin Lee’s performance at the Opening Ceremony, while there will be a host of fashion-related activities throughout the afternoon.
Many of our champion jockeys and trainers enthusiastically embrace the opportunity to dress up for the day with admission from 10.30am ahead of the Opening Ceremony at 11.30am with the start of the first of 11 races at 12.30pm.
The G1 Centenary Sprint Cup is carded as Race 6 and is run over 1200m at 3pm for prizemoney of HK$13 million. The pace should be good with VICTOR THE WINNER (Derek Leung) likely to lead from barrier one. MAGIC CONTROL (Craig Williams) has good gate speed and will go forward with KA YING RISING (Zac Purton) settling close to the speed with HELIOS EXPRESS (Hugh Bowman) and HOWDEEPISYOURLOVE (James McDonald) further back in the field.
KA YING RISING has won his last eight races and finished 2024 as the equal highest-rated sprinter in the world on an international mark of 121. He followed up his brilliant win over HOWDEEPISYOURLOVE in the G2 BOCHK Private Banking Jockey Club Sprint (1200m) with victory in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) on 8 December when he worked hard early from a wide gate. HELIOS EXPRESS was eating into the margin late, but KA YING RISING was never in danger of losing. He has been kept up to the mark since and easily won a trial last week and, although Zac will have to contend with the widest gate, he is my win selection.
HELIOS EXPRESS gets back and finishes his races off strongly and will be suited by the small field. He ran home powerfully to finish a half-length behind KA YING RISING last start and is one of the main threats to the favourite.
HOWDEEPISYOURLOVE continues to develop into a class sprinter and finished too strongly for MAGIC CONTROL and BEAUTY WAVES in the G3 Bauhinia Sprint Trophy (1000m) on 1 January and he is a place chance. VICTOR THE WINNER has his first start for trainer David Eustace here and trialled impressively at Happy Valley last week. VICTOR THE WINNER is also a place chance if he gets an easy lead from his rails draw.
The G1 Stewards’ Cup is carded as Race 8 and is run over 1600m at 4.05pm for prizemoney of HK$13 million.
The pace should be good with CALIFORNIA SPANGLE (Brenton Avdulla) likely to lead with BEAUTY ETERNAL (Zac Purton) going forward to sit close from barrier eight. PATCH OF THETA (Karis Teetan) and VOYAGE BUBBLE (James McDonald) are also likely to be in the first half of the field.
VOYAGE BUBBLE won this race last year, beating BEAUTY ETERNAL and has developed into one of the world’s best milers. He was a dominant winner of the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (1600m) in December, beating Japanese star SOUL RUSH. VOYAGE BUBBLE trialled well behind KA YING RISING last week and is my win selection.
GALAXY PATCH (Blake Shinn) is an exciting talent and did not have much luck in the LONGINES Hong Kong Mile when taken back from an outside draw and then encountering traffic problems when trying to make ground. At his previous run, he was third to VOYAGE BUBBLE in the G2 BOCHK Private Wealth Jockey Club Mile (1600m) and will be suited by a small field and is a definite threat.
CALIFORNIA SPANGLE was very effective when switched back to sprinting last year but in recent starts has found it difficult to get an easy lead in shorter races. If Brenton can dictate the race from the front, CALIFORNIA SPANGLE is a place chance.
While PATCH OF THETA looks disadvantaged at set weights against his rivals, he is an exciting talent with six wins and had eight placings from 14 starts. He contested a Group race for the first time last start and easily beat DROMBEG BANNER and GREEN N WHITE over 1400m, sprinting quickly in the straight with his light weight, to win impressively. PATCH OF THETA is also a place chance while BEAUTY ETERNAL, CHANCHENG GLORY, BEAUTY JOY and RED LION are all capable of finishing in the top four.
The launch at Tai Kwun JC Cube on Friday (17 January) of a virtual exhibition titled “FLASH! The Palace Museum – A Pop-Up Digital Experience” is a fantastic initiative and represents a wonderful opportunity for Hong Kong residents and visitors to experience amazing Chinese culture and content.
The exhibition, which is supported by The Hong Kong Jockey Club and exclusively sponsored by the Institute of Philanthropy, has been organised by Beijing’s Palace Museum in partnership with Tai Kwun and runs until 31 January with access for members of the public free of charge.
The pop-up exhibition presents Chinese culture in digital form, showcasing the architecture and artefacts of the Palace Museum, and the brilliant use of interactive technology allows visitors to appreciate the incredible beauty of the Palace Museum, art and wisdom.
In 2023, following meetings with the Director of the Palace Museum, we discussed how one could enhance exhibitions by digitalising the Palace Museum’s enormous content, making it more accessible and different by creating virtual reality experiences.
It is great to see that this idea has become a reality and I highly recommend visiting the exhibition, which is one of the activities of the “With you. Then. Now. Always.” Campaign in celebration of the Club’s 140th anniversary.
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