It was a short but exciting trip for me to attend British Champions Day in Britain. As you may have seen from the coverage, it was particularly windy and the going was definitely on the heavy side. I had the chance to speak with many of the top European connections and was delighted to hear some expressing interests in our LONGINES Hong Kong International Races at Sha Tin on 10 December.
The performance of the day, without doubt, went to Frankel’s son Cracksman as this three-year-old produced a devastating turn-of-foot to take the G1 Champion Stakes, emulating the same feat as achieved by his sire five years ago. I also think it was one of the most impressive winning performances over the distance in Europe this season. It is exciting to know that he is due to continue running next year and will surely feature in more of our simulcast coverage.
At home, sprinter Mr Stunning produced a solid performance, dashing strongly under top weight to win the G2 Premier Bowl at Sha Tin on Sunday. He was promoted two points for the effort and is now Hong Kong’s top rated horse at present. He carried 133 pounds in this race and conceded weight to all of his opponents, which should make more level weights races interesting as the season progresses. Runner-up Lucky Bubbles also made a good run, proceeding through gaps in the straight and will likely improve further in upcoming races.
It was great to see our homegrown jockey Derek Leung earn his first Group 2 success aboard John Moore-trained Beauty Generation in the Oriental Watch Sha Tin Trophy, proving its last win in the Celebration Cup was no fluke. After the race, John said they will now proceed to the BOCHK Wealth Management Jockey Club Mile with Derek remaining engaged for the ride. Many other horses in the race ran well, including the lightly-weighted Booming Delight, Jolly Banner and Winner’s Way. But the runs from established Group 1 performers were strong too, despite failing to finish in the placings. Werther, Helene Paragon and Beauty Only all were closing incredibly fast, with Beauty Only recording the fastest final 400m split, and I anticipate they will be even sharper going forward.
While I was in Europe last weekend, I used the HKJC TV app which enabled me to stay connected and not miss any of the coverage of our race meeting. The performance of the day for me was that of four-year-old Nothingilikemore in the Class 2 over 1400m. I have not seen for a long time a more impressive performance in Class 2. Nothingilikemore is definitely a rising star and an early favourite for the Classic Mile in January. He has the potential to be Hong Kong’s next Champion.
Today we unveiled the list of entries for the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races this year. While all of the aforementioned local horses hold an entry, the list of overseas runners is sensational, and I hope you have a chance to peruse them in the coming days. The timing is quite fitting as we wind down Oktoberfest tonight at Happy Valley, which is also the first LONGINES Night Races at the city track. The LONGINES Cup is run as race five and is a Class 4 over 1200m of the C+3 course, which tends to favour horses running towards the front of the field.
The pace is projected to be good in this event and as long as the leaders don’t go too fast, they should have an advantage. Multigogo is often a leader and should go forward while Exceptional Desire could go to the front as well. Look Eras and Bond Elegance are likely to assume stalking positions with Happy Fiery Dragon and Manful Star behind. Happy Happy and Corre Rapido should settle midfield, the latter of which might be posted wide. Cape The Faith and Planet Star are likely to be near the rear.
Multigogo ran well in his last outing at Sha Tin when changing gear and, even though he was unplaced in his only run at Happy Valley, is a win and place chance. The same applies to Exceptional Desire, and I see further potential in these two four-year-olds.
Manful Star is a last start course and distance winner and is a place chance in my view. Planet Star ran a good race in his season debut over course and distance when rallying late to grab fourth place. He needed the run but has to come from the back of the field and overcome the likely track bias. I see him still as a place chance as is Look Eras, who will be well-placed behind the leaders.
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