The relentless pursuit of excellence is an enduring hallmark of Hong Kong’s world-class racing and last Sunday (4 May) was no exception with the achievements of Tony Cruz and John Size at a meeting which perfectly illustrated the value of experience and the excitement of emerging talent.
Tony’s double with LIVEANDLETLIVE and WINNING OVATION took his career tally as a jockey (946 wins) and trainer (1,554) in Hong Kong to 2,500 wins, which is an incredible accomplishment and testament to his skill and durability.
It is amazing to reflect that Tony rode his first winner as an apprentice in the 1973/74 season, eventually advancing to six Hong Kong jockeys’ championships and global acclaim for his feats in Europe before becoming a dual champion Hong Kong trainer.
With 499 Happy Valley wins as a trainer, Tony could secure another milestone tonight (7 May) if any of his seven runners is successful. With so much experience to offer, it is pleasing to watch Angus Chung’s development under Tony with the pair combining with LIVEANDLETLIVE at the weekend.
John has had a profound influence on Hong Kong racing since he joined the Club in 2001, immediately winning the first of his 12 championships so far. Currently leading the 2024/25 standings with 55 wins from David Hayes (45), John continues set a remarkable standard.
Now just two wins shy of 1,600 victories in Hong Kong, John’s knack of developing emerging talent – human and equine – is unsurpassed with the guidance and tutelage he provides, having already nurtured future Hong Kong champion trainer Frankie Lor as well as many others including Pierre Ng and Benno Yung.
On a day when homegrown talents Angus Chung, Britney Wong, Jerry Chau and Matthew Poon were successful alongside Zac Purton, Alexis Badel, Andrea Atzeni, Brenton Avdulla, Harry Bentley and Luke Ferraris, John’s effort to win the G3 Queen Mother Memorial Cup Handicap (2400m) with BUNDLE AWARD was another reminder of his mastery.
Facing mostly older and more seasoned opposition, BUNDLE AWARD became the first of this season’s BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) crop to win a Group race with a fine staying performance, narrowly defeating fellow four-year-old and Derby starter NOISY BOY in a thrilling clash.
The quality of our four-year-old cohort was further emphasised by HONG LOK GOLF, who led home three other four-year-olds – PRAY FOR MIR, STEPS AHEAD and MICKLEY – when eclipsing older horses in the Class 2 Hillwood Handicap (1600m), while the wins of three-year-olds QUICK MONEY, CROSSBORDERPEGASUS, FORTUNE BOY, DAZZLING FIT and WINNING OVATION were certainly encouraging.
From an attendance perspective we were pleased with the crowd of 18,113, an increase of 30.58 per cent on the corresponding meeting in 2024 (13,871). The attendance on Sunday included 4,317 mainland tourists, an increase of 157 per cent on the corresponding meeting in 2024 when 1,674 mainland tourists visited Sha Tin.
International sport is one of my passions and it was a privilege to attend the LONGINES Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Shanghai last week when the world’s best show jumpers and their riders competed at an amazing event.
The standard was incredibly high and the eventual winner was Great Britain’s Scott Brash on his mare Hello Chadora Lady, collecting a remarkable winners’ prize of €204,600 (Approx. HK$1.8 million) after a truly outstanding display of horsemanship.
At Happy Valley tonight (7 May), we celebrate Happy French Wednesday in the Beer Garden where, in collaboration with the French May Arts Festival and the French Gourmay Food and Wine Festival, attendees will be able to enjoy quality French entertainment, food and wine and beer.
The French May Arts Festival is one of the largest cultural events in Asia with more than 100 programmes presented across May and June and has become an iconic part of Hong Kong’s cultural scene over the past 32 years with more than 200,000 visitors annually.
The feature race at Happy Valley tonight is the Class 3 Deauville Handicap, which is carded as Race 8 and run at 10.15pm over 1650m with prizemoney of HK$2,050,000.
The pace will be good with HIGHLAND RAHY (Luke Ferraris) likely to lead from LUCKY TOUCH (Zac Purton). SAMARKAND (Karis Teetan) will settle in the leading group along with QUANTUM PATCH (Andrea Atzeni) and FORTUNATE SON (Harry Bentley).
HIGHLAND RAHY led and won two races in succession over this course and distance and then finished second to A AMERIC TE SPECSO on 16 April. HIGHLAND RAHY is holding his form well and is a win and place chance.
LUCKY TOUCH is racing consistently and finished fourth to A AMERIC TE SPECSO in the same race as HIGHLAND RAHY, beaten a length by the winner. LUCKY TOUCH has drawn wide gates at his past three runs and should get the run of the race from gate three tonight and is also a win and place chance.
FORTUNATE SON was held up for a run at the top of the straight last start and then ran home well when clear to take third behind A AMERIC TE SPECSO. He is a place chance along with CASA ROCHESTER (Lyle Hewitson) and QUANTUM PATCH.
M UNICORN (Ellis Wong) and KEEFY (Matthew Poon) can also figure in the finish.
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