After three successive defeats, viral sensation Pakistan Star was back to winning ways at Sha Tin Tuesday. Piloted by Joao Moreira he made no mistakes when taking the Griffin Trophy. However, I have to admit that he was, for me, not as impressive as I had hoped he would be, even though he won easy. His competition surely was not the strongest, and one cannot say that he won it in a canter.
The distance was may have been too short, but he is still very inexperienced and the learning process continues. It is possible that the Hong Kong Classic Mile and the BMW Hong Kong Derby could be too early for him in his development, but we will see as the weeks progress.
I have to say I was particularly impressed with some of the younger talents in our final race of the meeting, with My Darling, Beauty Generation and California Whip all putting in strong efforts, and adding to the anticipation for the Hong Kong Classic Mile in three weeks’ time.
2016 was an accomplished year for racing in Hong Kong, capped by a phenomenal flagship day in December at our LONGINES Hong Kong International Races. Our racing gained much-deserved global recognition when Hong Kong was promoted to Part I of the Blue Book this year as all our pattern races became international group races this season.
It was quite pleasing to see connections of elite international horses such as Maurice and A Shin Hikari choosing Hong Kong as the place to make their swansongs. For Maurice, to win both the Champions Mile and LONGINES Hong Kong Cup in the same year, he has created additional breeding value and it should give him a good chance to earn Horse of the Year honours in Japan.
It was also great to have top sprinter Chautauqua visit and win the Chairman’s Sprint Prize in May, which was the top-rated sprinter in 2016 as of the last publication of world rankings, and for Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Highland Reel to finish a fantastically busy season with a strong second in the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase for Coolmore.
And we cannot forget about the accomplishments of Werther, our 2016 Derby winner who doubled-up with the Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup and much deserved Horse of the Year accolades. His performance in the APQEII Cup was the highest-rated performance of a Hong Kong horse in 2016 and we look forwarding to seeing him back soon, along with another champion, Able Friend.
Our champion jockey Joao Moreira enjoyed another record breaking season, having saddled 168 wins last term, and completing a full HKIR grand slam after a Vase win with Satono Crown earlier this month. To the delight of many of our racing fans, Kei Chiong’s ascendance as a leading apprentice has been particularly notable. She also reached a new personal mark right before the end of the year, riding a half century of winners in Hong Kong, with Travel First putting her on 50 this Tuesday.
I firmly believe there is plenty more for us to look forward to in 2017. May I wish all of you every success for the year ahead!
Tomorrow at Sha Tin we will host the first race meeting of the New Year – the Lucky Start 2017 race meeting. The G3 Chinese Club Challenge Cup Handicap is the feature of the day. Joyful Trinity and Contentment, who both ran well in the LONGINES Hong Kong Mile, will be out to make amends in this 1400m race.
The eighth race is the Chinese Club Challenge Cup, a Group 3 event over 1400m of the B+2 course. A small but select field is assembled, which was reduced by one following the scratch of Mr Bogart. Despite only seven horses contesting this race, the pace should be good, with Beauty Flame and Dashing Fellow the anticipated front runners. Contentment and Racing Supernova should adopt stalking positions with Sun Jewellery behind those. Joyful Trinity and Blizzard should be near the rear in what is likely to be a fairly compact field.
The four topweights in this field are emerging from the LONGINES Hong Kong Mile while the bottom three were in the competitive Class 1 handicap on HKIR day, and it will make for a very competitive event. Joyful Trinity’s last two races are superb and he looms a major threat if able to continue his progress. His October win over Beauty Only stands out in his form following the HK Mile, and I see him as a major win and place chance. Contentment has been consistent while running fourth in his last two big races, and is quite strong over 1400m. With a good draw inside and a solid pace to chase, he could be a big player if he finds his best form. But my overall top choice in the race is Blizzard, with Joao Moreira sticking here following a long-awaited breakthrough win in Class 1 last time out. He gets 12 pounds from the topweights in this handicap and that could make the difference.
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