It was great to hear that snooker star Ng On-yee won the 'Best of the Best' award at the Hong Kong Sports Star Awards on Monday night. She has worked incredibly hard to reach the top of her sport, and with two world titles last year she has brought a lot of pride to Hong Kong. At the Club we were delighted to honour her success through the Jockey Club World Championships Performance Scheme, which rewards athletes achieving top eight rankings in world championships.
In the spirit of true sportsmanship On-yee is also using her success to inspire the community. Recently she joined us to launch the HKFYG Jockey Club Community Team Sports programme, part of a major initiative by the Club to encourage people of all ages to participate in sports. My best wishes to her and all the other winners of the Hong Kong Sports Star Awards.
We did not have a blanket finish as many expected before the BMW Hong Kong Derby on Sunday, but the race was still as exciting as it could be. The John Moore-trained duo Werther and Victory Magic together produced an extremely exciting finish and Werther got the better of his stable companion, putting his near misses in the Classic Mile and Classic Cup behind him.
Our 4YO Series produced three exciting results, and I think we have some up and coming stars with great promise for years to come. The future looks bright and it will be interesting to see the how this new crop fares in our international features next month, as John Moore has indicated Werther will aim to follow the footsteps of Designs On Rome in the Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup.
In another development, it was with great disappointment that I learned of the withdrawal of Aerovelocity from Sunday’s Takamatsunomiya Kinen. This Paul O’Sullivan-trained ace was struck by a bout of colic when he was at the quarantine stables, the night before he was scheduled to set off to Chukyo Racecourse on Monday.
The health of the racehorse is always of utmost priority, and it’s relieved to learn that his colic symptoms were just mild, and that no surgery was required. Hopefully he recovers soon and makes a safe return to Hong Kong. I’m sure many local fans will be eager to watching him back in races in the future. The early reports from Dubai indicate our seven Hong Kong runners are in good order with their final preparation for the Dubai World Cup races. I will continue follow the news of this elite septet closely before I head off to Dubai to offer my personal support to them this weekend.
Before the big races in Dubai, we have an eight race card at Happy Valley and the feature is a very strong Class 1 – the Happy Valley Vase, a handicap over 1,800 metres of the “C” course. The pace should be good to slow and Fat Choy Hong Kong will go forward under the incredibly light weight with Kei Chiong onboard. She landed her first win at Happy Valley last week and that claim could help her mount lead as long as possible.
Horse Of Fortune will likely also go forward, tracking Fat Choy Hong Kong, with Top Act just behind. Khaya can race forward while Helene Super Star is mapped to have a bit of a wide trip. Romantic Touch should settle midpack with Flame Hero. Got Fly will hope to come from well off the pace with Helene Happy Star and perhaps Packing Llaregyb just ahead.
Horse Of Fortune has been working well and beat many of these over the C course last time and will carry only 113 pounds in another Class 1 try. He has also performed well over a good to yielding course, with three second placings, and is my main win and place chance. Flame Hero won the January Cup here and has four finishes in the top two from his six Happy Valley races. He should get a good trip from barrier four and stalk from midpack. Romantic Touch is seemingly at peak fitness now and working well. His best races this term have been over this distance and he’s easily capable of a good placing.
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