Although the World Cup has held the attention of most sports fans in recent weeks, there was enough going on last weekend to distract racing fans away from events in Brazil. Here in Hong Kong Caspar Fownes ensured there would be another exciting season-end climax to the champion trainer’s title, as he landed a win on Saturday to draw level with John Size at the top of the standings. There was no lack of important events overseas either, as the Aidan O’Brien-trained Australia handed his trainer an 11th Irish Derby victory to go with success in the Epsom original last month; and in Japan Gold Ship became the first horse to win the Takarazuka Kinen twice as he took the Hanshin feature in a decisive manner.
With the current season approaching its end, it is also a fitting time for us to reflect on the outstanding achievements of our top horses and elite horsemen over the past year. As you will recall, Hong Kong horses won four of the six international G1 events on home soil this term, and also achieved two G1 doubles overseas in Dubai and Singapore. We also have a very good crop of four-year-olds, perhaps as strong a crop as we have ever had, with Designs On Rome and Able Friend producing elite performances.
If you look back through the season you will notice that our numerous top-class horses have notched G1 victories from 1000m to 2400m, and not only on turf but also on Tapeta. At sprint distances, Amber Sky, Lucky Nine and Sterling City enhanced the reputation of our sprinters with overseas wins, and Sterling City became the first Hong Kong runner to win a G1 race on Tapeta when he took the Dubai Golden Shaheen from another of our horses, Rich Tapestry, who himself had won a G3 in Dubai on his previous start. Over a mile, it was Glorious Days who stood out. Akeed Mofeed, Dan Excel and Designs On Rome all sparkled over 2000m, while Dominant landed us an unexpected but deserved first Hong Kong Vase in more than a decade over 2400m.
As I alluded to earlier, some of our outstanding horses will gain recognition at the Champion Awards presentation ceremony to be held this Friday. They all, adding to other outstanding performers such as Stewards’ Cup and Champions & Chater Cup winner Blazing Speed, Hong Kong Gold Cup victor and last year’s Horse of the Year Military Attack, as well as Gold-Fun who succeeded in winning the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup, showing the depth of quality in our top horses right now. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the continuous support of horse owners who bring in outstanding horses to Hong Kong racing.
To give this occasion the grandeur we believe it deserves, this year we will host the presentations during a gala dinner at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. You can follow related coverage that night on TV and see if your favourite horses will receive the accolades you feel they deserve, and of course which horse will win the big one, the Horse of the Year title.
Before then we will host our second last race meeting of the season – the Hong Kong Reunification raceday at Sha Tin racecourse this afternoon. I’m sure everyone will be paying close attention to the Size and Fownes runners, with John and Caspar having contenders in seven and 10 races respectively. Zac Purton, who will have seven rides, is very likely to seal his first Champion Jockey title today. He is also chasing Douglas Whyte’s phenomenal all-time record of 114 wins in a season, and with two race meetings to go he is just four behind. It should be an exciting afternoon all round!
There are three feature races on the card and I will turn my attention to the Hong Kong Reunification Cup (Handicap). It is run as a Class 2 over 1200m on the All Weather track and has attracted some very good horses. There are plenty of speed horses in the race which should result in a good to fast pace, and that may help horses running from behind. Beauty Sparkle is likely to take up his usual role as leader but likely to be challenged by Access Years, who will try to overcome his draw of gate 11. The same tactic is likely to be used by Smart Volatility and Lord Sinclair. Access Years is working very well and despite the draw he is my first pick, with Imperial Champion who has a pedigree that should enable him to excel on the All Weather track. Smart Man is working well too and Silly Buddies is my outsider with a chance.
Returning to the World Cup, I believe many of you would agree that there has been plenty of excitement in the Round of 16 matches over the past three days, as both Brazil and the Netherlands were on the brink of early exits but managed to survive. For me though, the most impressive achievers so far must be Costa Rica, the tournament’s surprise package. The team’s great composure, work rate, efficiency and “can-do” spirit is a pleasure to watch, and the absolutely stunning performance of their goalkeeper Keylor Navas has left a very good impression too. I believe their quarter final encounter with the Netherlands will be a cracking affair.
Like Costa Rica, Algeria have shown the similar level of toughness in their defense early this morning, as they took my home team Germany to extra time. Thanks to the patience and goals from Andre Schurrle and Mesut Ozil, Germany won in by 2-1 and managed to overcome the challenge. It was a hard-fought win and now France will be waiting for them next in the quarterfinal. The kick-off time of that match fits perfectly into my personal schedule as it will be on Friday at midnight. That means I can enjoy the Champion Awards ceremony and then afterwards give my support to my home team. I would say that’s the best of both worlds!
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