Last weekend was one of the most momentous in Hong Kong racing history with the stellar Group 1 performances of ROMANTIC WARRIOR, KA YING RISING and VOYAGE BUBBLE.
All three horses are outstanding competitors and it took a career-best performance from Japan’s FOREVER YOUNG to thwart what would have been a perfect weekend for Hong Kong with his narrow victory over ROMANTIC WARRIOR in the G1 Saudi Cup (1800m) on dirt.
Much had been written and said about ROMANTIC WARRIOR’s incredible globe-trotting feats before the Saudi Cup and his effort to go within a neck of winning the world’s richest race at his first start on dirt triggered an avalanche of unqualified praise for this remarkable horse and I would like to again congratulate owner Mr Peter Lau and Danny Shum for their sporting enterprise.
James McDonald’s affection for ROMANTIC WARRIOR meant he was naturally downcast and disappointed after the Saudi Cup but he showed his professionalism in flying overnight from Riyadh to partner VOYAGE BUBBLE to an impressive win in the G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) at Sha Tin in challenging circumstances.
As James pointed out post-race, the slow tempo of the race did not suit VOYAGE BUBBLE and when, through no fault of his own, he was shuffled back through the field at the 800m to be second last, his prospects of winning dimmed.
Champion horses and jockeys habitually overcome obstacles and VOYAGE BUBBLE’s effort to rebalance and eventually power away to win by almost four lengths was extremely impressive and it will be interesting to see how VOYAGE BUBBLE fares should Ricky Yiu proceed towards the G1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2400m) in May when victory would secure a HK$10 million bonus for winning the Triple Crown Series.
KA YING RISING again showed his class and growing versatility in winning the G1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m) from barrier nine, defeating three fellow Group 1 winners and extending his unbeaten streak to 10 races for David Hayes.
Ridden by Karis Teetan in the absence of injured Zac Purton, KA YING RISING again displayed tremendous quality and also admirable courage when he was challenged at the 200m by HELIOS EXPRESS and HOWDEEPISYOURLOVE. KA YING RISING has had only 13 starts, winning 11 of them and rising from an unraced 52-rater to 132 and he is now increasingly viewed as the world’s best sprinter.
After six months of intense competition, it is appropriate the DBS x Manulife Million Challenge will be decided on the very last night of the 2024/25 series at Happy Valley tonight (Wednesday, 26 February) with four horses still in contention to take overall honours.
A total of 230 individual horses has competed in the series so far and the outcome of four races tonight will decide the outcome with HK$1 million for outright victory, HK$350,000 for second and HK$150,000 for third, respectively, on offer.
The Challenge has been closely followed since from September and the competitive nature of the series is exemplified by the leaderboard – SOLEIL FIGHTER (50), GUSTOSISIMO (42), I CAN (42), ETERNAL FORTUNE (40), AURORA LADY (36), BEAUTY DESTINY (36), RED ELEGANCE (33), BRAVE STAR (30), CHILL CHIBI (30) and SHARPEN BRIGHT (28).
Under the competition format of 15 points for the win, six for second, four for third and three for fourth, SOLEIL FIGHTER, I CAN, AURORA LADY and ETERNAL FORTUNE are all chances of winning the series under varying permutations when they race tonight.
Of the current 10 horses in contention to finish in the top three places overall, six are racing tonight – BRAVE STAR in Race 1, SOLEIL FIGHTER and I CAN in Race 3, AURORA LADY in Race 8 and ETERNAL FORTUNE and RED ELEGANCE in Race 9.
Adding an exciting dimension to tonight’s DBS x Manulife Million Challenge finale is the presence of one of the world’s premier jockeys, Ryan Moore, who takes eight rides at Happy Valley.
The DBS x Manulife Million Challenge is set for an exciting finish at Happy Valley tonight
The Class 3 Tsui Man Handicap is carded as Race 3 at 7.40pm and will be run over 1650m for prizemoney of HK$2,050,000.
SOLEIL FIGHTER (Ryan Moore) has been in great form, finishing in the top three over this course and distance at his past five starts and ran home well for third to HAMERON last week.
He has drawn ideally in barrier one tonight and should be able to either hold the lead from TELECOM FIGHTERS, who will go forward from gate nine, or take a sit on the rails behind the leader. SOLEIL FIGHTER is my win and place selection and if he can win, he will have an unassailable lead in the DBS x Manulife Million Challenge.
I CAN (Andrea Atzeni) won over the course and distance on 11 December when he sat on the speed and last start stalked the pace but was safely held in finishing fourth to SOLEIL FIGHTER. I CAN is a place chance along with RED HARE KING (Brenton Avdulla) and AERIS NOVA (Harry Bentley).
The Class 3 Sing Woo Handicap is carded as Race 8 at 10.15pm and will be run over 1200m for prizemoney of HK$1,860,000. AURORA LADY can win the DBS x Manulife Challenge with victory in this race providing either SOLEIL FIGHTER fails to score or I CAN does not win Race 3 and ETERNAL FORTUNE does not win Race 9.
The pace will be good with CALIFORNIA TOUCH (Matthew Chadwick) and AURORA LADY (Andrea Atzeni) likely to share the front, with GALLANT VALOUR (Brenton Avdulla) and newcomer AUTOMATED (Keith Yeung) also close to the speed.
AURORA LADY is a three-time course and distance winner this season and he led at Happy Valley two starts ago and was just beaten in the final strides by WINGS OF WAR. He is a win and place chance in a strong race.
CALIFORNIA TOUCH has not raced since September when he ran fifth to WUNDERBAR over 1200m at Sha Tin. He has undergone surgery since but has shaped well winning two recent trials. CALIFORNIA TOUCH has drawn well in gate two and will run well as a place chance.
GALLANT VALOUR was an impressive in posting his third win of the season and is a place chance along with BUNDLE OF CHARM (Ryan Moore), WINGS OF WAR (Hugh Bowman) and KYRUS DRAGON (Karis Teetan) also having place chances in an open race.
The last race of the night is the Class 3 King Kwong Handicap is carded as Race 9 at 10.50pm over 1000m with prizemoney of HK$1,860,000. ETERNAL FORTUNE (Ryan Moore) can win the DBS x Manulife Million Challenge if he wins and other results go his way.
The speed will be good with HONG KONG HALL (Dylan Mo) likely to lead from YOUTHFUL SPIRITS (Luke Ferraris). RED ELEGANCE (Hugh Bowman) and HARMONY N BLESSED (Ellis Wong) will also be prominent.
RED ELEGANCE is a three-time course and distance winner and was rewarded for his consistent form last start when he finished strongly to beat ETERNAL FORTUNE and HEROIC MASTER. RED ELEGANCE is a win and place chance, although he cannot finish any higher than second in the series.
In a race with many chances ETERNAL FORTUNE is a place chance, along with HEROIC MASTER (Andrea Atzeni), YOUTHFUL SPIRITS (Luke Ferraris) and HEALTHY HEALTHY (Brenton Avdulla).
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