In racing it’s extremely difficult for a racehorse to maintain its perfect record throughout its career. Nearco from Italy, one of the most influential sires in the 20th century, was probably one of the rare examples of an unbeaten legendary racehorse in the modern era. But other influential and prominent thoroughbreds such as Nijinsky and Northern Dancer also failed to keep their perfect records in racing careers before they eventually earned unprecedented success at stud. If you wish to find the closest example in recent years, you might have thought of American supermare Zenyatta who went so close before she was defeated in her final career start in the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2010 before retiring as a broodmare.
With racing now becoming a more globalised and competitive sport, it’s increasingly difficult for a racehorse to maintain its perfect record as they might face both top runners locally and also those quality raiders from overseas. That explains why the rare achievements made by those two top-rated racehorses in the 2011 World Thoroughbred Rankings – Frankel and Black Caviar – have been exceptional, and they both still have the chance of achieving that legendary feat. Both horses enjoyed a perfect season in the past 12 months as Frankel brought his winning sequence to nine, including swooping four more G1 titles, and stunned global racing fans by giving one of the greatest ever performances in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket. For Black Caviar, she racked up eight more victories in the current season, including five at G1 level, adding more gloss to her illustrious career.
With Black Caviar set to race in the UK next month and her trainer Peter Moody locked on targeting the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at the Royal Ascot meeting, this has enhanced the albeit slim chance of both horses squaring off with each other. I believe the chance received a further little boost as Frankel’s trainer Sir Henry Cecil told British media earlier this week that he would love to see these two super horses taking on each other on British soil. Sir Henry said the 1600m Sussex Stakes to be held at Goodwood on August 1 could probably be the only race in which the two horses could meet. But it takes two to tango and Moody would also need to be convinced about the proposition.
Just as Sir Henry said, such a face-off between current champions in UK and Australia would only do good to international racing. Should it materialise, it would definitely be the spotlight event for global racing fans, in fact it is safe to say that it could prove to be one of the defining races of all time, not to mention the best possible way to promote the sport of racing to others. I would certainly look forward to it and I’m as interested as anyone to see whether these two horses will really meet each other in a race this summer.
However, with our current legislation forbidding us to host or arrange any race simulcasts between 16 July and 31 August, this means we could not arrange any simulcast even if such an exciting duel materialised in early August. I can expect that we may again receive some opinion expressed by our racing customers concerning this issue if it really happens with the two great thoroughbreds taking on each other.
Anyway, you can watch Frankel in action tonight as he will be making his season debut in the G1 Lockinge Stakes at Newbury Racecourse. We will simulcast this race to Hong Kong for the first time. So you can watch his live performance before he competes at Royal Ascot and we can hope that he will eventually meet with Black Caviar later on.
Elsewhere in the Far East, drums are also looming in Singapore as tomorrow Kranji Racecourse will host its annual flagship event the Singapore Airlines International Cup day. Unfortunately this year the host was rocked by the withdrawals of Cirrus des Aigles from the SIA Cup and also home sensation Rocket Man from the KrisFlyer International Sprint. I just wonder if we had a representative in the KrisFlyer, we should have a decent chance of winning this sprint event. Anyway, I believe racing fans in Hong Kong will continue giving great attention to this race meeting as Thumbs Up, California Memory and Zaidan will stage a three-pronged attack for the Hong Kong team in the SIA Cup. You can also follow their performances instantly during our simulcast on this G1 and five other races in the same race day tomorrow night.
I will also turn my attention to Munich tonight as the city will host the Uefa Champions League final, with Bayern Munich and Chelsea squaring off against each other at the Allianz Arena. Both teams paid quite a high price when they saw off their opponents in the semi-finals, as Bayern Munich have three players suspended for the finals, while Chelsea were even worse as they will have four players missing this match for the same reason. This scenario will put their managers Jupp Heynckes and Roberto Di Matteo to a great test and I look forward to see how their respective Plan B will work in this final match tonight.
Before you put your sporting focus on UK, Singapore and Germany, don’t forget we still have 10 exciting races being held shortly at Sha Tin. Among the races on the card, the ATV Cup is a true Class 1 event with a rating band of 120 to 95, which has attracted quite a number of proven Class 1 horses. The expected pace is good and Penglai Xianzi from Gate 14 has to work to go to the front, with his stablemate Beauty Flash sharing the lead. Packing Ok, Familists and Outdoor Pegasus can be well placed close to the front. Packing Ok was rested for a month and is looking better and it’s a place chance for me. Familists is fitter and working well and has a good place chance, too. Fat Choy Oohlala has trialed well and being placed in midfield he has decent win and place chance. Chater Way should be placed in midfield and should come with a strong run for a place. Let Me Handle It missed some work in March but has recovered well and is an outside chance to win or being placed.
For the Lockinge Stakes, this G1 over 1600m carries a prize money of 175 000 pounds, which is interestingly only higher by around HK$300,000 when compared to our ATV Cup. That shows how attractive it is to be a horse owner in Hong Kong! Under normal circumstances, Frankel would be very difficult to beat. Excelebration, who has the benefit of a race by winning the Gladness Stakes over 1400m impressively, will be the only horse who is capable to cause some danger, but I still believe he is not enough to overcome Frankel.
Comment
