Following my productive meetings on Friday in Dubai, it was a real pleasure to be present for the annual Dubai World Cup meeting, and in particular, witness the tremendous talent of American dirt champion Arrogate in the US$10 million race. As the world’s top rated horse of 2016 according to the IFHA’s Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, I’m sure our racing fans felt similar to all of us in attendance when he was pinched back to last in the early stages. When jockey Mike Smith guided him outside and asked him to accelerate, he was an unstoppable force and sealed the victory with relative ease. Overall, it was the most exceptional winning performance that I can recall in the recent runnings of the World Cup.
While the expectations were not overwhelmingly high, it was a bit disappointing that our three Hong Kong runners did not perform to their best at Meydan, though the rare rainstorms that affected the surfaces might have played some part in our horses not enjoying the conditions.
Although Hong Kong couldn’t land a blow in Dubai this year, we are not leaving there empty-handed. Joao Moreira landed another international win with Japanese runner Vivlos in the Dubai Turf, while the connections of several top performers on the night, including Al Quoz Sprint winner The Right Man, are considering a visit to Hong Kong for our spring internationals.
We will continue to cast our eyes on more major races abroad like the two-week Championships meeting in Australia and the Osaka Hai in Japan, which could yield participants in our upcoming major fixtures.
Tonight at Happy Valley we have a trio of Class 3 events to close the card. Race 8 is the East Point Handicap over 1200m. The pace is expected to be good which should give horses coming from the back a good chance. Cheer Win jumped well in his last start and was a leader for Joao Moreira. He could go forward again, though will likely have company with Marvel Tribe. Arm Runda will likely track them with A Beautiful behind in midfield. Both Our Hero and Peace N Prosperity might have trouble with their wide draws but could quicken early in a hope to gain some cover. Pakistan Baby will likely settle midfield or farther back with Hard Ball Get and Let’s Take It Easy.
Cheer Win is working well, plus being drawn in gate four and having Moreira on board are big positives. I see him as a win and place chance despite going up in class. Pakistan Baby is drawn in gate three and with a good position in midfield should be a win and place chance too. Lucky Day ran well last time and is proven in Class 3, which makes him a horse to consider for a win and place. Arm Runda is an upcoming type and I can see him, with in form jockey Karis Teetan, potentially spoil the party for the others.
Comment
