Across international sport’s wide and varied spectrum, this week’s spotlight surely falls brightest on Barcelona star footballer Lionel Messi. He was remarkably crowned winner of the FIFA Ballon d’Or for the 4th time in a row for his exceptional performances last year. Banging in a record total of 91 goals in all competitions in the entire calendar year of 2012, he surpassed French maestro Zinedine Zidane and Brazilian striker Ronaldo to become the only player to win this coveted title four times.
I believe it would not be too much of an exaggeration to say we are in the era of Messi, as the Argentine star continues to mesmerise his opponents’ defences, week in and week out. Despite his paramount status, Messi still seems to remain very down to earth and humble, as he dedicated his latest honour to his Barca teammates and also his compatriots in the Argentina national team. After receiving his award he said the only thing that interests him is to play with the ball and enjoy the game. With his consistently outstanding performances this season, he has helped Barca extend to an 11-point lead at the top of the Spanish League. It appears very possible that he could obtain his 6th La Liga winners’ medal this season, and I believe many football fans would be interested to see if he can lift the UEFA Champions League trophy for the 4th time too.
It’s always enjoyable to watch top footballers perform at their peak, and the same applies to top race horses on the track. But both footballers and horses are not machines, and there are never any guarantees that they will perform at their brightest in every match or every race race. Things may not fall their way during the contest or they may be off colour. This was in evidence last Sunday when one of our upcoming star horses disappointed me a bit; the horse was last season’s Champion Griffin Amber Sky.
The three-year-old jumped nicely and travelled very well early in that 1000m race, but he flattened out in the final stage of the race, especially in the last 100m, as he faltered and became unbalanced. My first impression was that Amber Sky was lacking full race fitness after having a break, but later the Vet Report was released, stating that he was found to have a substantial amount of blood in the trachea. Unfortunately these problems usually do not come to light until the horse is tested during a race, and I hope that the horse will recover to full strength soon and show us the extent of his ability.
While we look forward to seeing how he runs in his next start, earlier this week we announced the lists of top horses and promising four-year-olds who have been entered for The Stewards’ Cup and the Hong Kong Classic Mile – both HKG1 events that will be held on Sunday week. The Stewards’ Cup features a star-studded list of candidates, including our very own awe-inspiring heroes, Ambitious Dragon and California Memory, both of whom were victorious at our international races last month; and also powerful opponents like Glorious Days and Xtension.
I watched the replay of Glorious Days’ trial last week and I liked what I saw. He seemed to be thriving as he won his batch, showing that he remains in great form after his second to Ambitious Dragon in December’s Hong Kong Mile. Ambitious Dragon trialled yesterday morning and although he finished five lengths behind the winner, Eagle Regiment, in his batch over 1000m, he moved nicely. He was not tested or ridden throughout the journey and that easy workout will have brought him along in preparation for next Sunday’s race. It seems that both the two star runners have come out of their last G1 assignment nicely and I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that I’m really looking forward to seeing the stars of our racing scene face-off on the Sha Tin turf.
And on the same card we will have the added excitement of seeing the stars of the future line up in the Hong Kong Classic Mile, which is the first leg of our Four-Year-Old series. There are some exciting young prospects set to engage in that race, so it’s certainly one not to miss!
Before we turn our attention to these two top racing events, tonight we can enjoy another special evening of sport at the Valley as the first night meeting in 2013 features the only Group race at the city racetrack this season, the January Cup. It has attracted a high class field and is run as a HK Group 3 event under handicap conditions over 1800m. The pace is expected to be slow because there is no regular pacesetter in the field. This situation will favour horses in the front of the field. The long run into the first bend gives the riders a good chance to find a position and I expect Same World from Gate 2, with the light weight of 113 pounds, will take the lead, with Aomen and Helene Spirit behind him. As Pure Champion will try to find a position behind the leaders, Beauty Lead from Gate 8 could find himself in a position to be forced to go forward or would be caught wide. Irian from Gate 4 and Military Attack from Gate 6 should be settled in midfield, with Destined For Glory, Familists and Fun Rider at the back.
Helene Spirit is looking well and his work has been good. He is for me a win and place chance in this race, especially because he is unbeaten in his two previous starts at the Valley. Pure Champion is working well and despite carrying the top weight, he has a chance to defend his title. Military Attack who ran well in the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup is working well too and is a place chance for me, as is Irian who was a little bit disappointing in the same race but is looking well and working well recently.
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