Joao Moreira and Nash Rawiller were the stars of our first night meeting in the Year of the Rooster as they each rode a winning treble at Happy Valley on Thursday. For the past two years, Joao has showed his prowess and skills in equestrian riding, through his participation in the HKJC Race of the Riders event during the LONGINES Masters of Hong Kong. He will aim for more success at the 2017 renewal next Friday, 10 February, at AsiaWorld-Expo, when he partners with top French equestrian rider Roger-Yves Bost, who took a huge honour in his homeland when a member of the winning gold medal squad in team jumping at the Rio Olympics last year.
Neil Callan, Vincent Ho and Derek Leung will also be participating in this exquisite jockey-equestrian relay event. Vincent is partnered with Hong Kong’s own Jacqueline Lai on “Team Hong Kong” while Derek joins Simon Delestre, ranked fifth in the world, and Neil is with the Olympic bronze medalist Daniel Deusser who leads the world’s ranking currently. The Club is a founding partner of the LONGINES Masters and we have rendered huge support to this FEI-sanctioned top-class equestrian event since it was first held in 2014. As one of the world’s leading racing operators, it is great to play a part in bringing a world-class equestrian event to Hong Kong and share this wonderful sport with all horse lovers.
You will hear much more about the LONGINES Masters in the coming week and don’t forget that you can vote for your favourite Race of the Riders squad at this link with a chance to win two free tickets to next Friday’s event.
Sunday’s highlight at Sha Tin is the G3 Centenary Vase and has drawn a field of nine. It is run as race 7 and is an International Group 3 race which we in Hong Kong run as handicaps. Horse Of Fortune is the highest rated horse with a rating of 114 with the only non-Hong Kong participant, The Alfonso on 110, while the lowest rated horse is Supreme Profit on 93.
The pace is expected to be slow and the race can develop in a sprint. Helene Super Star generally rolls and could lead a long way if no one else goes. Horse Of Fortune could also adopt this role, though at top weight, it seems unlikely. Romantic Touch won’t be far behind while Flame Hero should be mid division or farther back. Helene Charisma is likely to be near the rear.
The race is very open and has no clear stand out. Supreme Profit has a good form in running close to Dinozzo and is a win and place chance for me. The Alfonso is in very good form and looks a win and place chance too. Romantic Touch, at his last start in Happy Valley, was a good fifth to Harbour Master and is for me a chance in the race too. The horse with the biggest potential in the race is the Grand Prix de Paris winner Helene Charisma who had a good debut in the Classic Mile when he ran on encouragingly at the end of the race at probably a distance below his best, which is in my view between 2000 and 2400m. The last start has improved his fitness and would not be surprised if he would be in the finish.
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