I’m sure some of you watched our Dubai Super Saturday simulcasts last weekend. I paid special attention to the Meydan Sprint and the Mahab Al Shimaal as several of the runners in those races could well be possible opponents for our Dubai-bound Hong Kong camp this year. It was exciting to see both Shea Shea and Reynaldothewizard winning the two races in some style.
At the upcoming Dubai World Cup race night on 30 March, Eagle Regiment and Joy And Fun will go for glory on turf in the 1000m G1 Al Quoz Sprint while Frederick Engels will aim at the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen over 1200m on the Tapeta. Scheduled to depart for the UAE next week, these three horses seem to have been doing well in trackwork lately, particularly Eagle Regiment and Frederick Engels who both won their most recent prep trials at Sha Tin. With the hard work done, now it is down to their ability to acclimatise to the weather and environment in Dubai. I hope they all settle well, stay sound and are able to produce their best on foreign soil.
Here at home we have entered Derby week and with the countdown ticking, we are just four days away from the big race. Several BMW Hong Kong Derby contenders trialled last Tuesday at Sha Tin, while HK Classic Mile winner Gold-Fun went in a barrier trial at Happy Valley on Friday morning. Although I was in Beijing for business, I still watched the replay of Gold-Fun’s trial that night through the Club’s website. His jockey Olivier Doleuze rode him hands-and-heels when entering the straight and this Richard Gibson-trained runner produced a smart response, surging to the front to win the batch impressively.
It was a good performance by this G1 winner. With Gibson also having two other major Derby contenders in Akeed Mofeed and Mizani, it appears that all his three charges have made good progress and look sharp ahead of their challenges for the big event on Sunday. Now everyone wants to know which gates the horses will draw. We will have to wait until Thursday morning to find out at the barrier draw, which will be held at Sha Tin. Every horse connections will be hoping for the best draw for their Derby contenders so it will be interesting to see if the leading fancies will boost their winning chances or not. I think that it is an even renewal this year, so as several horsemen have observed, the barrier draw could prove to be crucial. One thing is for sure, the lead up to this year’s Derby is fascinating and I know we are in for some exciting sport on Sunday.
A few of our older G1-winning stars will also play their parts to ensure a great afternoon as we have another top-class event that day – the final leg of the HK Speed Series, the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup. This HKG1 race is another that I am really excited to watch as classy sprinter Lucky Nine will square off with two-time Horse of the Year Ambitious Dragon and Stewards’ Cup winner Glorious Days – both great milers – over the intermediate distance of 1400m. I’m sure it will be another exciting contest and one that further showcases Derby Day as one of Hong Kong’s must-see sporting occasions.
Before then, we will have another midweek race meeting at Happy Valley tonight – also the finale of Wines in the Valley themed meeting. Among the eights races on the card, the Police Cup is run as a Class 3 over 1650m. With only a few leaders in the race, none of them would go very fast. The tempo is likely to be slow which favours horses in the front of the field. On a humourous note this should please the police because we will have no speeding in Happy Valley in this trophy race tonight! Mighty K from Gate 1 should be able to lead. He galloped well with blinkers last week and is the horse to beat in this event. Fortune Winner should join him in the lead with Sea The Pearls, Racing Reward, Real Dragon and Uwillbeglorious being well placed. Under these conditions Uwillbeglorious is one of my other preferences to perform well and being a win and place chance. As is Sea the Pearls who steps up in distance with which I have slight concerns. Always Something is on form and will be a real contender but the draw could it make difficult for him and I would not be surprised that Douglas Whyte takes the initiative to be more forward to be in a good position behind the pace. Therefore I see him as a place chance as well as Magnanimous who has to come from behind.
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