I’m sure you all enjoyed the battle royale between Lucky Nine and Glorious Days in the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup last Sunday as those two classy sprinter-milers produced a pulsating duel in the final 300m of the home straight, with the former horse holding off the determined challenger to claim his glory.
With Brett Prebble choosing to position Lucky Nine along the rail and close to the speed off a fast tempo, his mount was still able to deliver a great turn of foot upon seeing daylight and showed plenty of heart to hold off his main opponent in the concluding stages.
Despite losing the battle, I think the connections of Glorious Days need not be too disappointed. It was the inexperienced horse’s first attempt at pattern race level; he was compelled to race four-ride around the home turn; he was somewhat intimidated by the shifting out of Lucky Nine in the straight; and he still made a gallant finish, just losing on his G1 debut to an international G1 winner – at level weights despite an 11-point rating difference – by a margin of a head. In hindsight, it was a performance of great merit, which showed the enormous potential he possesses.
With that victory, Lucky Nine would likely be Dubai-bound and on target for the US$2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen on 31 March. Before importing to Hong Kong, Lucky Nine had race experience on the Polytrack surface in Ireland, and he also won on the all-weather track at Sha Tin back in June 2010. Hopefully, he can produce another emphatic performance in the third leg of the Global Sprint Challenge on Meydan’s Tapeta surface.
In January last year, Lucky Nine unleashed his own potential as he achieved his breakthrough at G1 level by winning the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Classic Mile. Since then, this Caspar Fownes-trained five-year-old, along with Classic Cup and Hong Kong Derby winner Ambitious Dragon and Derby runner-up Xtension from the same generation, have all developed into performers of the highest class with victories at international G1 level. Their massive progress shows the great standard of our four-year-old series and its status as an important springboard for these young runners to develop into some of Hong Kong racing’s great stars.
The outstanding achievements of last year’s crop have me eagerly looking forward to this year’s Derby. I think the field this season is also highly competitive, with quality runners such as Classic Mile winner Sweet Orange and Classic Cup winner Zaidan having already shown their great capability. We also have other smart imports such as Dominant and Military Attack, as well as Bullish Champion who was just defeated by Glorious Days by a slender margin in his penultimate start. I think these horses and their performances all reflect the competitive quality of the Derby field this year and I look forward to seeing an absorbing battle at Sha Tin on 18 March.
We have just announced the selected runners for Hong Kong’s most prestigious local race, which was first run in 1873 and carries HK$16 million in prize money, more than both the Kentucky Derby in the USA and the original Derby at Epsom, England. You can browse to our racing news page and through other Club channels to see whether your preferred horses have been included in the 2012 line-up.
The artiste Julian Cheung, who is probably be better known as Chi Lam to all locals, was also in attendance at our media session at Happy Valley a few moments ago, to witness the announcement of the Derby field – he was appointed as our Derby ambassador this year. Chi Lam himself will soon become an Owner along with fellow artiste Aaron Kwok. They have formed a partnership and have a permit to import a racehorse to Hong Kong next season. We are pleased to have his participation in our sport and I think it’s a very fitting move to have him here for our Derby promotion this year.
You don’t need to wait too long to know who will be the 2012 Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Derby champion as the big event at Sha Tin is just about a week and a half away. Before then, eight entertaining races, including two trophy race events, will be on offer in our midweek fixture at Happy Valley tonight.
In the Ewo Challenge Trophy, the pace is expected to be very slow and Istide is likely to lead or take up a forward position. This will make him a place chance again tonight, as he has finished third in each of his three runs this year. This race features seven runners which finished among top three in their most recent starts. Easy Gold is a 4-time winner this season, including three at Happy Valley, and is making his first start at 1800m. The final section of this race will be quicker than standard and How Wonderful and Mount Victory, separated only by a short head last month in their last start of same distance, look ready to fight it out again for the top spot. Euphemism should be closer to the pace tonight which will give him a place chance as his form is improving and he ran well in his first attempt at the distance in his last start.
In another trophy event of the night, the Hong Kong Arts Festival 40th Anniversary Cup, it is a Class 3 event to be run over 1200 metres. Xilai Xianzi just missed the chance for a winner in the same distance two weeks ago, and looks ready to break through for his first win in Hong Kong. He will need to be at his best tonight as Glenealy Star, Mr Vigorous and Good Strike can all make a strong case to contend for the top spot. Of these three, Good Strike, unlucky in his last run is the one that I will be most interested as his last effort was promising.
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