Joao Moreira, Zac Purton and Neil Callan, each rode a winner at Happy Valley on Wednesday and will hope it is a good omen before they are to ride in the races on Macau Hong Kong Trophy day at Taipa today. I’ve arrived Macau for the races in support of the day and will be cheering for our Hong Kong duo, Marvel Hero and Romantic Touch.
These two Hong Kong runners are both in fine form this season. Marvel Hero tallied three decent wins at Happy Valley, while Romantic Touch was twice placed at group level, including a notable second to subsequent Hong Kong Mile winner Beauty Only in the G2 Jockey Club Mile in November. Let’s see if they can bring Hong Kong another success in Macau.
On the football side, Bayern Munich and Chelsea have both become champions in Germany and England. Whereas in Spain, getting a point against Malaga on Sunday will see Real Madrid clinching their first league title in five years. And in Italy, Juventus can win their sixth successive title should they win one of their two remaining matches. I believe it will be very likely for them to do before they square off in the Champions League final early next month.
At Sha Tin tomorrow the focus will be our tenth 18 Districts Cup at Sha Tin. Initiated in 2008, this annual event has served as a platform for the Club, the 18 District Councils, government departments and community leaders to exchange our views on district development. I’m delighted to have the opportunity to again meet many district representatives on such an occasion, and I hope all will have an enjoyable time and experience with us tomorrow.
For the 10 races on the card, the Lotus Handicap is the final race of the day and it is a Class 2 event to be raced over 1600m. Tomorrow’s races will be held over the C+3 Course which sometimes favours runners who sit close to the speed, but in the last few races those backmarkers may still finish strongly under decent tempo.
The expected pace of this race is good. Lucky Girl has led at each of his four starts and he’s even more likely to lead here than he was when he raced over 1400m last time. Eastern Express will be the one to follow, with Doyeni and Booming Delight both stalking behind the speed. Seasons Bloom and Beauty Way both settle midfield and Nassa will stay behind midpack.
Booming Delight did well in his recent trackwork. He’s ever consistent and just suffered a narrow defeat to Eastern Express over the course and distance last time. He should be benefitted from the normal tempo here and I rate him as a major win and place chance. Nassa has shown his promising talent in his first two starts in Hong Kong, including his fast-closing 4th behind Booming Delight last time. Along with his conqueror Eastern Express, these two horses should be the other major players in this race. For other contenders, Seasons Bloom proved his prowess over this distance when he ran second to Rapper Dragon in the Hong Kong Classic Mile in January. This Danny Shum’s trainee, along with Beauty Way, are the place chances in this competitive event.
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