I believe those of you who watched the Japan Cup simulcast during our race meeting last Sunday would agree with me that it was a very dramatic race. As usual, Japanese racing fans gave their premier international event huge support, with more than 100,000 people packing the grandstands at Tokyo Racecourse.
They were not disappointed as the home team produced a dominating performance, making a clean sweep of the first eight placings in the Cup. The early pace was slow, but race favourite Buena Vista then produced a dazzling finish on the straight and was first past the post. Jockey Christophe Soumillon was ecstatic as he and his mount returned to the front of the grandstand to receive the fans' cheers, tossing his whip into the adoring crowd.
But his celebrations turned out to be premature as after a lengthy enquiry lasting some 20 minutes, the stewards decided to demote Buena Vista to second for her interference on Rose Kingdom, with the latter promoted to first place. The surprise decision left the crowd in stunned silence.
In my assessment, even if Rose Kingdom had not been checked by Buena Vista in the final furlong, it was still unlikely he could have recovered the two-length deficit on his rival to win. Just as some of our customers who offered their feedback to us after the race, I was also bemused by the reason why the Japanese stewards came up to this decision.
Obviously, the panel’s decision was based in the Japanese rules which don't differentiate if the interference would have had an effect on the outcome or placings of the race, but simply focuses if a horse has been interfered with. This is a simple rule and it is easy to ensure consistency of decisions and has the additional benefit of jockeys being careful for not to interfere with another horse and acts as a deterrent of not to cause interference to achieve a better place.
Comparatively in our rules, we take into account if the interference would have resulted in a different outcome in that the horse which was impeded would have finished in front of the horse which caused the interference. From my point of view, although making this judgement would sometimes be difficult, and create some questioning and controversy, I still think it’s a better approach from the customers’ interests and their point of view.
With simulcast races and commingled pools being increasingly popular in global racing, I think there are rooms for different racing jurisdictions to discuss this topic together, so as to try reaching a consensus and set up similar judgement benchmarks. I believe this will definitely be a positive move for related development in the future.
Anyway, it was unfortunate that the incident cost this mighty filly and her connections so dearly. But that’s racing and sometimes you need that extra bit of luck to get a result. I’ll be following subsequent developments from Japan and will be interested to see if Buena Vista can enjoy better luck in the Arima Kinen later this month.
It's a double blow for Soumillon as he has also been given a suspension for four Japanese race days, which means he cannot participate in the Cathay Pacific International Jockeys’ Championship at Happy Valley next Wednesday. He is always very popular with our local fans and I know they'll be disappointed not to see him in action again this year – but the good news is that we've been successful in inviting another top class jockey from France, Olivier Peslier, to replace him.
Peslier also rode in last Sunday's Japan Cup, but his big success this year has been his partnership with top European mare Goldikova, with whom he has won five Group One races in Europe and North America, including an emphatic third consecutive victory in the Breeders’ Cup Mile last month.
He needs little introduction to our home racing fans, especially in terms of the International Races, as he holds the current record for CXHKIR winners with seven successes to date. He has also won the International Jockeys' Championship twice, in 1998 and 2006. So I'm confident that this late change will have no impact on the stellar line-up for this year's CXIJC and its keen level of competitiveness.
Before then, there are still two domestic race meetings to go, starting with our night races at Happy Valley tonight. In tonight’s trophy race, the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals 140th Anniversary Challenge Cup, it will be a real challenge with plenty of chances in the race. The expected fast pace, with at least six horses usually leading or race just off the pace, should give closers a good chance, too. Chevalier King who has performed well over 1000m will be tested by the extra 200m, but the fast pace should help him to settle and from Gate 4 he should be well placed and is my top selection in this race. A number of in-form runners who have inside draws in this race, namely Topping Light, Felix Coetzee-ridden Super Plus, as well as Five Clubs with Brett Prebble on board, should be Chevalier King’s main opponents.
In the Po Yan Handicap, it’s a very competitive Class 2 race over 1000 m and again a fast pace is expected. Royal Flush and Holey Dollar should be in the lead and with the fast pace, Friendly Gains, Island Speed, Hongkong Superstar and St Fevre should be in ideal positions. But comparatively, I will be more interested to see how El Zonda performs. Being a course and distance specialist, I would fancy his first-ever partnership with Coetzee this time. His stablemate St Fevre, and recent performers Hongkong Superstar and Royal Flush, will also have chances to finish close in this race.
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