Many football fans in my home country Germany have been buzzing about the “Dortmund miracle”. In midweek, Borussia Dortmund pulled off what seemed an impossible comeback against Malaga in the Uefa Champions League quarter-final. Trailing 2-1 late in the second half and facing exit from the tournament, the team scored two quickfire goals in stoppage time to miraculously overturn their deficit and win 3-2. It was an unbelievable result, showing the fighting spirit and character of Germany’s league champions. It also highlights what is one of the great beauties of sport, that is, if you battle and work right to the end, there is always a chance that you can change a losing situation into a winning one. Anyway, the host team’s late exploits sent their home supporters from the abyss to delirium.
Now Germany will have double representation in the final four of this premier European Club football competition with Dortmund there alongside Bayern Munich – the last German outfit to win this competition back in the 2000/01 season. They will be in the mix with two mighty opponents – Spanish powerhouses Barcelona and Real Madrid. These will be two mouthwatering match-ups and I’ll be paying close attention to the semi-final matches later this month.
Another exciting sports occasion to look forward to later this month is one of our premier international racing events, the Audemars Piguet QEII Cup. This event will also draw a global focus when it’s staged on our home turf at Sha Tin on 28 April. This 2000m G1 event’s title sponsor Audemars Piguet has been one of our most supportive commercial partners over the years; in fact, this is the 15th consecutive year that they are the race’s title sponsor. In that time the race has developed into an established world-class race and an important feature in the international racing calendar, as well as a glamorous social occasion.
Again a few high quality overseas raiders have been selected and will come to Hong Kong to mount a challenge against our home team, which will be led by two-time Horse of the Year Ambitious Dragon and twice Hong Kong Cup winner California Memory. Among these selected visitors I would give a mention to Japanese runner Eishin Flash. Compared to last year’s race winner Rulership, I would say the form and quality of Eishin Flash may even be stronger! Not only is he himself being a dual G1 winner, but he has also twice finished within three quarters of a length of the mighty Orfevre, including last time out. Also noteworthy is the fact that Eishin Flash’s participation means that this year will mark the first time ever that a Japanese Derby winner will take part in one of Hong Kong’s international races.
Another form horse that no doubt will catch racing fans’ attention is Godolphin’s runner Sajjhaa. This mare won four group races in a row in Dubai earlier this year, including a pair of G1s, the Jebel Hatta and the lucrative Dubai Duty Free last time. South African champion mare Igugu and Irish Derby winner Treasure Beach are both top-class winners too and definitely no pushovers either.
This year’s race certainly looks every inch a classic renewal. It will be a fascinating contest and I’m sure it will attract plenty of attention from horsemen and racing journalists around the world.
We shall continue to provide you all with the latest news about the race in the fortnight to come. Before then, let’s first get our attention back to our local races tomorrow, with it being a bit special as it will be a daytime meeting at Happy Valley. It promises to be an interesting racing spectacle with talented young runners like Mizani and Classic Cup winner It Has To Be You both featuring in the day’s final race, the Wing Wo Handicap, after their previous assignments in the Four-Year-Old Series. Let’s see how they fare when racing at the Valley track this time.
For the day’s trophy event, the Hong Kong Exchanges Challenge Cup, it is run as a Class 2 with an extended rating band of 105 to 80, which permits some Class 1 horses to run in this race. The pace of this 1200m race is expected to be good to slow which tends to favour horses in the front of the field. Arrived Ahead will be leading from Gate 4, with his other main pace rival Bundle Of Love possibly taking the box seat. Windicator Star, New Glory and Charles The Great can be well placed with Simple from Gate 9, Cape Canaveral from Gate 10 and Voile Rouge from Gate 12 are at risk to be trapped wide. New Deerfield, Imperial Rome and Talley Close will come from the back and the pace may not be fast enough for these closers. Charles The Great, Windicator Star, New Deerfield and Imperial Rome are all working very well and I prefer Charles The Great and Windicator Star because they are likely to be better positioned. After being gelded in November, New Deerfield is in terrific form and can run the last 400m in 22.22 seconds in his penultimate start at Happy Valley. He’s still a place chance for me. Final Answer is improving. With his expected position in the front of the field, he can be the horse who can surprise in this race.
Comment
