Our racing fans have surely enjoyed international racing over the last few weeks and tomorrow’s simulcast meeting will be no different as we will showcase the Queen Elizabeth II Cup from Kyoto as well as seven races from the Singapore Gold Cup meeting.
Singapore has always been a close racing partner through the Asian Racing Federation and several months ago, they announced their plans to reintroduce international races from 2019. Personally, I believed it to be very good news, and not just because our horses have performed well there in previous international races, but for the fact that it puts them more firmly in touch with global racing, and can only yield positive benefits for their racing development.
The Singapore Gold Cup is a traditional year-end top event for them, and like our Champions & Chater Cup, is the final leg of the Singapore Triple Crown series. You can follow and enjoy these top Singaporean runners in our simulcast tomorrow.
Before then, we have a quick back-up to today’s Panasonic Cup meeting, in its traditional location on Saturday. Panasonic is one of our longest serving racing sponsors and this Class 1 event has drawn a field of ten, including six horses which hold entries for the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races. The Panasonic Cup, run as Race 7, is a Class 1 handicap with a rating band of 110 to 85 over 1400m with an expected good-to-slow pace. Wah May Friend is the likely early leader. Limitless has shown speed in recent trials and could also go forward too. Magic Legend may be caught wide, but should be forwardly placed, while New Asia Sunrise should sit behind the speed. Simply Invincible will be midfield with People’s Knight. Booming Delight will likely be near the back of the field with Racing Supernova, Western Express and the debuting Exultant.
Western Express and Racing Supernova are both working well and will likely have to overcome the good to slow pace from the back of the field, but are my first two choices for a win or at least a place. They both have a very good turn of foot as has Booming Delight, who has to carry top weight, but I see his best distance being longer than 1400m and I see him more as a place chance.
Simply Invincible is getting to his top form and he is a place chance in my view being positioned in midfield to make his run. Magic Legend was a little bit disappointing so far but his last run was good and I can see him run a place.
Exultant is an exciting newcomer to Hong Kong racing being a Northern Hemisphere three-year-old and has shown good form in Ireland over a distance of 1600m. He has come along nicely in his three trials and has been imported with a view to the Hong Kong Classic Mile and the BMW Hong Kong Derby and is an interesting outsider.
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