Our elite Four-Year-Old Classic Series will commence this Sunday with the Hong Kong Classic Mile and a week later, we will host a Group 1 double with the Stewards’ Cup and the newly-promoted Centenary Sprint Cup. The focus of the week, though, is surely on the Classic Series generation. Many of the entrants enjoyed final trials last week and the first trial from last Friday caught my eye. Likely favourite Nothingilikemore ran on very well and just edged Pingwu Spark, who is entered for Sunday’s Class 2 over 1400m. One notable item from the back markers was the calm trial of Exultant for trainer Tony Cruz.
This Irish import produced an eye-catching win over 2000m last out and will now step back in trip to 1600m for the Classic Mile. He was tugging hard throughout that last race and wide, which made the easy win all the more impressive, but left some question as to whether or not the pacing of that race was to blame for his over-racing. Exultant was more calm in the trial with the hood, but Tony has decided that with the shorter trip in this race, and the likely faster pace that will result compared to his last run, the hood will not be required and more consideration will be given based on the results of the Classic Mile.
As for the big races next week, the Stewards’ Cup drew 13 initial entries with this season’s LONGINES Hong Kong Cup winner Time Warp and LONGINES Hong Kong Mile champion Beauty Generation in the mix, as well as former Horse of the Year Werther and last season’s top miler Beauty Only amongst the likely runners. The up-and-coming Fifty Fifty, a four-time winner this season, is also expected.
Meanwhile, our top-rated horse and LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint winner Mr Stunning is due in the Centenary Sprint Cup along with his progressive stablemate Beat The Clock. This should make for two exciting weeks for our racing fans as some of the finest horses in Hong Kong take to the turf.
Tonight at Happy Valley we host the first of three “Wines In The Valley” nights at the city track. For the eight races on the card, my focus is on Race 6, the Hong Kong Club Challenge Cup which is a Class 3 over 1200m. The pace is likely to be good, which on the C-track should give every horse a fair chance. Dashing Gainer should not have trouble getting to the lead with Phantom Falcon, under the lightweight, likely to race close to him. Champion Pride has shown speed in his recent trials and is likely to be forwardly-placed with Powermax. Royal Mojito will likely be mid-pack with Arm Runda and Fairy Twins behind.
In a very open and competitive race, Fairy Twins is one of the horses I like for a win or place with his proven Happy Valley form and having Boudot as the jockey, as he is very strong in a finish. Phantom Falcon. who is a 4-year-old, is my other win and place choice. He has enjoyed strong performances in his last two runs over course and distance despite having drawn gate 10 tonight, which is not ideal, it should be manageable given his gate speed.
Royal Mojito is also a 4-year-old and has shown some good form at Sha Tin without winning, and earlier in his career in Hong Kong, was not as convincing when starting at Happy Valley. His recent trial in Happy Valley in December was encouraging and should have prepared him well for a good performance in the Valley. Powermax has shown a strong preference for running at Happy Valley with three wins over course and distance, and therefore I ignored his last start in Sha Tin where he finished eighth. He is drawn well and should find an ideal position behind the leaders. Plus, the stable of Richard Gibson has shown good form recently and he should be at least a place chance.
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