During our race meeting at Sha Tin last Saturday we witnessed quite a special moment when Douglas Whyte rode Sweet Sanette to win the Pok Oi Cup. The victory made this Gary Ng-trained horse the first Hong Kong-based filly to win a local race for more than three years - the last being Almond Lee's Regal Thrills in September 2006.
As most of our local races are handicap races rather than being run on set weight terms, fillies and mares cannot enjoy any weight allowance. That, and the fact that we do not have our own thoroughbred industry here, has led our Trainers and Owners to prefer importing colts and geldings into Hong Kong, making fillies and mares very much a minority group in local racing. Currently, we just have four fillies or mares based here. Despite this, we have still seen a few outstanding mares performing here over the years. I think most of you will remember Elegant Fashion who won the Hong Kong Derby in 2003, and also perhaps Crystal Charm, who was runner-up in the 1999 Hong Kong Sprint, losing only to the mighty Fairy King Prawn.
Although some people suggest that fillies and mares tend to be more emotional and difficult to handle in training, I personally believe that's a misconception as when I was working in Germany, I saw many reliable fillies and mares who performed very consistently in races. Sweet Sanette has shown some nice acceleration in her past two runs. Given that she successfully overcame the weight of 132 pounds in her recent victory, I hope to see her producing more good performances against her male counterparts later this season.
Another nice horse who gave me a good impression on the same day was current CSL Million Challenge leader Super Satin. He scored his fourth winner of the season, but this time at Sha Tin as he won comfortably in the Peninsula Golden Jubilee Challenge Cup over 1800m. He settled well and looked very relaxed in the early stages of the race, before delivering a strong kick on the home straight to take the prize.
Not only have this victory lifted his chances of selection for the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Derby in March, but more importantly, it proves that this four-year-old can stay for the Derby distance and handle the Sha Tin track very well. His trainer Caspar Fownes says he will now prepare the horse for the Derby Trial next month, so it will be interesting to see him go head to head with other strong Derby contenders in this Group 2 race.
As Super Satin's preparations will now be focused on his next appearance at Sha Tin, it seems he will not be running again at Happy Valley before the CSL Million Challenge ends next month. It's a pity in one respect, but it will definitely throw open the field and make this series more interesting for the final few Wednesdays.
Four of the other top 10 CSL Million Challenge contenders will be in action again at Happy Valley tonight, where we have eight races on our card. Personally, I'll be watching how Flying In runs in the Mount Cameron Handicap. Having performed nicely in his last two starts at Sha Tin and Happy Valley, this four-year-old horse will be partnered by Brett Prebble and I hope he can make a breakthrough in this mile race. Among other runners, both Royal Pumpkin and Sapelli performed consistently this season and I think they could pose some threats to Flying In. It will also be interesting to see how Flying Supreme, who is in my opinion an improving horse, handles the Happy Valley track tonight.
For the Police Cup, I think it's a very open and challenging race, but I'll be paying my special attention to Easy Ahead in this event. Now ranking sixth in the CSL Million Challenge standings, this horse has snatched a winner and two runner-up finishes at the Valley this season. If he wins in this race tonight, he will surpass series leader Super Satin in the leaderboard. So let's see how he performs tonight. Both Yue Lu Treasure and Real Special ran closely in their last appearance on this track. I think they are also capable to finish close in this race.
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