I would like to congratulate Japan on the incredible win of FOREVER YOUNG in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic (2000m, dirt) at Del Mar Racecourse in California this morning with a stunning performance, which makes the G1 Saudi Cup (1800m dirt) effort of ROMANTIC WARRIOR even more impressive.
With his feat to beat SIERRA LEONE and FIERCENESS on their home ground, FOREVER YOUNG confirmed his standing as the premier dirt horse in the world and gave further context to ROMANTIC WARRIOR’s heroic 2025 Saudi Cup performance, when Hong Kong, China’s global champion lost by only a neck to the Japanese champion- with almost 11 lengths to the third horse, USHBA TESORO.
FOREVER YOUNG’s trainer Yoshito Yahagi has mastered the art of travelling and, after despairing defeats in the Kentucky Derby and Breeders Cup last year, FOREVER YOUNG has achieved another career-defining win to add to topline victories in Japan, Dubai and Riyadh.
The Breeders’ Cup meeting featured 30 horses with entries for LONGINES Hong Kong International Races and many excelled, particularly NOTABLE SPEECH (G1 Breeders’ Cup Mile, 1600m), ETHICAL DIAMOND (G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf, 2400m) and SHISOPICY (G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, 1000m), who all won.
There were also very good performances from other LONGINES HKIR entries, including REBEL’S ROMANCE, who ran second to ETHICAL DIAMOND, THE LION IN WINTER, who was third to the brilliant NOTABLE SPEECH, and KHAADEM, who was third to SHISOSPICY.
With ROMANTIC WARRIOR on the cusp of returning to racing in the G2 BOCHK Jockey Club Cup (2000m) at Sha Tin on 23 November, and a potential rematch with FOREVER YOUNG in the Saudi Cup next February, the Breeders’ Cup meeting was a wonderful reminder of how compelling elite horseracing is.
Our simulcast action continues this afternoon with the running of the G1 Tenno Sho Autumn over 2000m at Tokyo Racecourse.
Carded as S3-1 at 2.40pm, the Tenno Sho Autum features nine LONGINES HKIR nominees – COSMO KURANDA, URBAN CHIC, SOL ORIENS, TASTIERA, BREDE WEG, MASQUERADE BALL, HO O BISCUITS, MUSEUM MILE and QUEEN’S WALK.
MASQUERADE BALL (Christophe Lemaire) finished second in the G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, 2400m) to Croix Du Nord and, despite taking on seasoned older rivals, is a win and place chance with Christophe seeking his sixth win in eight years in this race.
MEISHO TABARU (Yutaka Take) led throughout to win the G1 Takarazuka Kinen (2200m) and will be hard to beat for Yutaka, who holds the record for the most wins by a jockey in this race with seven.
TASTIERA (Damian Lane) ran second in this race last year and is always a threat and is a place chance along with QUEEN’S WALK (Yuga Kawada), MUSEUM MILE (Cristian Demuro) and HO O BISCUITS (Yasunari Iwati).
Happy Valley hosts its only day meeting of the season on Sunday with the launch of our Japanese Festival with J-style, music, culture, food and delicacies, including sake, in the Beer Garden.
The first race is at 12.45pm and the sporting highlight is Class 2 Guangzhou Handicap, which is carded as Race 9 and run over 1200m at 5.15pm.
This race sees the return to Hong Kong racing of G3 Korea Sprint (1200m, dirt) winner SELF IMPROVEMENT, who will be ridden by his successful rider Jerry Chau but he has to carry the top weight of 135lb after his handicap rating has been increased by 14 pounds for his win.
This should make it difficult for him, especially being a dirt specialist and never having performed to such a high rating on turf.
The race has an abundance of speed and should be run at a good to fast pace with YOUTHFUL SPIRITS (Luke Ferraris) leading, being a 1000m specialist. STELLAR EXPRESS (Keith Yeung) from gate 11 and RED ELEGANCE (Hugh Bowman) from gate eight are at risk to be kept wide.
A fast pace would help STORM RIDER from the in-form stable of David Hayes and ridden by Karis Teetan and, from his good draw of gate one, he should be well positioned just behind midfield. I rate him at least as a place chance on his most recent form when beaten only a head over this course and distance with a weight of 135lb in Class 3, while he has now to carry only 118lb in Class 2.
My first choice is MASTEROFTHEUNIVERSE, who is trained by John Size whose stable, as a pattern, starts to perform well from November. He is ridden by champion Zac Purton and will come from the back. He needed the first start of the season when beaten just two lengths by the in-form TOMODACHI KOKOROE. His fitness level has improved and he has been twice placed over this course and distance.
COLOURFUL KING, ridden by Andrea Atzeni and from the David Eustace stable, is another interesting contender who is working very well and will come from last with the expected fast speed likely to help compensate for being drawn in gate 12. David has a similar pattern of training his horses like John Size by taking it slow in the first weeks of the season and waits until the temperature drops.
This is a very open and competitive race. AURORA LADY, trained by Pierre Ng and ridden by Alexis Badel, is a four-time course and distance winner and is working very well. He should not be underestimated and is a place chance.
YOUTHFUL SPIRITS is trained by the current leading trainer this season in Mark Newnham, who will try stretch his horse to 1200m after his win in his last start over of 1000m. The Newnham stable is on fire and, while YOUTHFUL SPIRITS got an eight-pound penalty, he is a place chance.
Britney Wong takes her first rides at Happy Valley today with five mounts – MACANESE MASTER, JUICY DRAGON, LEAN MASTER, FRANTANCK and LUCKY PLANET – after having ridden 23 winners and 22 placings in 249 races at Sha Tin over the past two seasons.
Being able to ride against elite jockeys at one of the most unique racecourses in the world is the start of a new chapter for Britney, who also gained valuable experience competing in races in Australia and New Zealand before returning to Hong Kong last season.
At 26, Britney continues to learn and develop and I wish her the best of luck into the future.
We want to make racing even more interesting and accessible for our potential younger racing fans and beside our new AI supported Racing Simulator which we plan to launch next year after we have already successfully tried it out and implemented in some venues like The Beat and Vantage in Happy Valley, we want to dial up our entertainment offering via our partnership with the global Entertainment Group XIX and the group Now United.
Their new song Giddy Up uses Happy Valley as its stage. Please listen to it and you may choose to join the Dance Challenge, so please Giddy Up!!!!
This morning, I had the privilege of participating in the National Games torch relay along with Hong Kong Jockey Club Chairman Mr Martin Liao and champion jockey Vincent Ho, among others.
The National Games are held every four years and are the nation’s highest-level and largest multi-sports event and I am excited at the prospect attending the National Games to witness outstanding competition in a variety of sports.
Hong Kong will host eight competition events – basketball, track cycling, fencing, golf, handball, rugby sevens, triathlon and beach volleyball, as well as bowling as a mass participation event.
Guangzhou and Macau, China, will also host world-class sports events throughout the National Games and I wish Hong Kong, China’s athletes the very best of luck.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a long-standing supporter of sport at all levels with a clear appreciation of the physical and mental benefits sport brings to athletes – elite and social – and we are all delighted with the effort of sailor Nicholas Halliday to win Hong Kong, China’s first gold medal of the National Games in the men’s single-handed dinghy ILCA 7 class in Shanwei, Guangdong.
Comment
