It’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow, and I hope everyone will be celebrating in style. I shall be at Sha Tin racecourse as usual, but I will certainly not be forgetting my wife – or so she reminds me!
If you’re looking for some special entertainment, the Hong Kong Arts Festival is less than one week away. The Club has been a long-standing supporter of the Festival, bringing big-name shows from overseas but also showcasing local talent through the Jockey Club Local Creative Talents Series and The Hong Kong Jockey Club Contemporary Dance Series. But if its romance you’re after I can think of nothing better than the ballet Sleeping Beauty from 17th to 19th of March. The Club is sponsoring two of the matinee performances for school students so they can experience this fantastic Tchaikovsky ballet for themselves.
We had a tremendous start to the Year of the Monkey as close to 90,000 racegoers joined our Lunar New Year race meeting in midweek. The races were fantastic and the racecourse atmosphere was great, especially when distributing lai see to many race fans after Race 9 that day.
It was not a God of Fortune but in fact a wizard who starred that day as Thewizardofoz trounced his opponents in his victory in the Chinese New Year Cup. The G1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup at the end of this month could be the next assignment for this talented four-year-old. It would be great to see how he fares when squaring off against those established elite runners in a race that is now one of the world’s Top 100 Group 1s.
Our top dirt sprinter Rich Tapestry commenced the first of his anticipated three-run campaign in Dubai on Thursday night with a start in the G3 Al Shindagha Sprint. He didn’t disappoint his connections and fans as he was very sharp off the gates, successfully made all under Gerald Mosse, securing a comfortable win in this 1200m event. It was his third victory abroad and it showed the prowess of this seasoned traveler who shows no signs of slowing at the age of eight. Hopefully his condition will continue to improve and he could deliver the same or even better performances in his subsequent Dubai runs.
Back to our local races as we will be having a double celebration at Sha Tin racecourse tomorrow. In Chinese tradition, the seventh day of the Lunar New Year is everyone’s birthday and it coincides with Valentine’s Day. Thus we have arranged various Valentine-themed activities and special offers to allow you all to enjoy another festive day on course.
Our feature for the day is the Heung Yee Kuk 90th Anniversary Cup, a Class 2 event over the 1,200m of the C+3 course, which has drawn a field of 12. There is a significant spread in the handicap here with Amazing Kids carrying the top weight of 133 pounds and nearly half the field racing with a 113-pound assignment. I would expect Charity Glory could go forward to lead again after doing so last week and getting a big weight break. Lucky Bubbles and Hong Kong Captain should be close to it while Key Witness and Peace N Prosperity should be in good tracking spots. Overall, the pace should be good to slow, favouring those closer to the front.
The two key contenders are very clearly Amazing Kids, drawn wide in 12, and Lucky Bubbles, drawn in barrier 2, his first solid inside draw following starts from 13, 11 and 12. Lucky Bubbles is my main win chance considering he is three for four over the Sha Tin 1,200m trip and is now taking a step down after two very solid efforts against Hong Kong Classic Mile winner Sun Jewellery. Brett Prebble will likely position him well just off the pace and he should be the one to catch. Amazing Kids with Ryan Moore aboard is topweight in this field and has to work out a trip from the outside and will come running late. He too has been successful over the trip at Sha Tin, including a 1200m C+3 win when carrying 118 pounds in September. He is a win and place chance too. Peace N Prosperity is a placing chance for me after a win last time and is working well. He has done most of his racing at Happy Valley but should be well positioned with the pace scenario and has a solid draw for Karis Teetan.
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