With only six meetings left in the 2024/25 season, one of the most amazing chapters in Hong Kong horseracing is rapidly drawing to a close.
This season will be remembered for some truly exceptional equine and human achievements and Hong Kong racing has again excelled at the highest level – both domestically and globally – with a string of stunning accomplishments.
The announcement this week of the final nominees for the Hong Kong Jockey Club Champion Awards is a timely reminder of how fortunate we have been to witness so many elite performances across the previous 10 months.
The three Equine Titans of Hong Kong racing in alphabetical order – KA YING RISING, ROMANTIC WARRIOR and VOYAGE BUBBLE – have reached towering heights with track records in Hong Kong and Dubai and multiple Group 1 triumphs, while VOYAGE BUBBLE’s effort to annex the Triple Crown with G1 victories in the Stewards’ Cup (1600m), Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) and the Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2400m) was a performance for the ages.
With victories in 11 of the world’s top Group 1 races this season, Hong Kong horses have once again inspired and enthralled our city and the 2024/25 Group 1 feats of KA YING RISING, ROMANTIC WARRIOR, VOYAGE BUBBLE and RED LION are testament to the skills and dedication of our world-class trainers and jockeys and the passion and commitment of our loyal owners.
The accomplishments of a talented batch of four-year-olds – not least the all-conquering KA YING RISING – is certainly very positive along with the performances of emerging gifted horses such as CAP FERRAT, MY WISH and RUBYLOT, to name just a few, which bodes well for the future.
The relative credentials of some of the final nominees for the Champion Awards have already caused spirited debate, not least the identity of the Horse of the Year and, as a member of the judging panel, I look forward to weighing the merits of the outstanding horses involved and I wish all connections the very best of luck ahead of the 11 July Champion Awards Ceremony with the announcement of the winners.
Hong Kong’s world-class racing continues at Sha Tin on Saturday (28 June) with the Class 1 Pearce Memorial Challenge Cup Handicap, which is carded as Race 8 at 7.35pm and carries prizemoney of HK$3.72 million.
The speed will be good to fast with STELLAR EXPRESS (Andrea Atzeni) leading from WUNDERBAR (Brenton Avdulla), BEAUTY WAVES (Alexis Badel) and MAGIC CONTROL (Ellis Wong).
WUNDERBAR is an exciting sprinting talent who returned to his best when beating RAGING BLIZZARD and HARMONY N BLESSED over 1200m on 14 June. That win was further proof of master trainer John Size’s skill as he changed WUNDERBAR’s gear to get him to settle better in running. This is short of his optimum distance but WUNDERBAR is a win and place chance.
MAGIC CONTROL and BEAUTY WAVES’ recent form looks below their best but both are straight course specialists and will run well.
MAGIC CONTROL has run five times over the course and distance this season for three wins and two seconds. At his most recent outing over the trip, he gave all his rivals significant weight and easily beat JAMES TAK and FULL CREDIT on 23 February. MAGIC CONTROL is a place chance.
BEAUTY WAVES has run twice this season down the straight course winning the G3 National Day Cup on 1 October, beating MAGIC CONTROL, and finishing third in the G3 Bauhinia Sprint in January behind HOWDEEPISYOURLOVE. BEAUTY WAVES is having his first run here for Tony Cruz and is a place chance.
HORSEPOWER has won three of five starts over 1000m this season and returns to his favourite trip and drops in weight after disappointing over 1200m at Happy Valley last start. HORSEPOWER is drawn in gate three and is a place chance.
This is a very open race where every runner has the ability to figure in the finish on their best form, including AURORA LADY (Matthew Poon) and STELLAR EXPRESS, who has been working well leading to this race and also has claims.
Regarding the unfortunate accident at Happy Valley on Wednesday (25 June), I want to express how everyone in the racing community was saddened to see the fall of SEASONS WIT, who unfortunately could not be saved.
We were very concerned about the health status of our three jockeys – Lyle Hewitson, Jerry Chau and Karis Teetan – involved in the fall and I want to thank the experienced medical teams who were quickly on the spot to expertly assess the injuries and provide medical support.
While Lyle suffered wrist and ankle fractures, fortunately the injuries of Karis and Jerry were not as severe and Karis has been cleared to ride today after a comprehensive health check while Jerry will likely resume riding next Saturday (5 July).
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