We had a business manager meeting in Conghua earlier today, which also coincided with a visit from Owners of horses stabled with our first-phase dual-site trainers. The Owners, pictured below, had a wonderful look around the Conghua Training Centre, which will open in August, and will be a very exciting development for the sport here in Hong Kong.
On Wednesday, we announced the entries for our three spring internationals, namely the Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup, Champions Mile and Chairman’s Sprint Prize, to be held at Sha Tin on 29 April. This is the first year that all three races will be held on one day and I was very pleased to see the substantial support from local and overseas connections as a total of 116 horses from 12 jurisdictions are nominated. All three of these races received prize money increases for their 2018 runnings, with the AP QEII Cup now at HK$24 million, the Champions Mile up to HK$18 million and the Chairman’s Sprint Prize at HK$16 million.
Top European trainers including Aidan O’Brien from Ireland and Andre Fabre from France have several entries for the big races, while our own top stars are well-represented. It is always exciting to see how our horses, particularly the Derby generation of four-year-olds, progress into these races. Ping Hai Star, Singapore Sling, Exultant and The Golden Age are just some of the four-year-olds amongst the nominations. Of course our Derby winner Werther went on to claim AP QEII Cup glory in 2016 while Pakistan Star was so close to the top level last year, failing just a neck short of Neorealism, who has been entered again to defend his crown.
Overall, there was a sharp increase in the number of nominations from Japan across the three races, and our racing fans will have several opportunities to see some of these nominated horses in action – both in Japan and also in Dubai – through our upcoming simulcasts.
Of course, this Sunday we will bring you the Takamatsunomiya Kinen, which features our own Blizzard running, as well as four horses which hold Chairman’s Sprint Prize entries. We will also carry seven races from the Dubai World Cup meeting next week, and while there are unfortunately no Hong Kong runners following D B Pin’s defection this week, a relative rarity for us, there are 15 horses amongst the likely runners in those races with entries for our upcoming Group 1 races. For the first time, we will also simulcast the Osaka Hai meeting from Japan on 1 April.
Blizzard ran very well in his first try in Japan’s Sprinters Stakes this October, a fast closing fifth beaten just 1.25 lengths, and he went on to run a strong third in the Hong Kong Sprint. I am sure you will join me to see if he can bring his best to the Chukyo turf tomorrow and reclaim glory achieved by Aerovelocity when winning for Hong Kong in 2015.
Turning our attention back to local racing, tomorrow is also a special day for our new apprentice jockey Victor Wong, as he will make his Hong Kong debut at Sha Tin Racecourse. Victor honed his skills in Tasmania and Adelaide for the past 3.5 years, accumulating plenty of race experience, with 120 wins from more than 1,000 rides. Victor has three rides tomorrow and I wish him the very best in his Hong Kong career.
I would also like to extend my congratulations to Derek Leung for outriding his two-pound claim when he earned his 250th win as a jockey in Hong Kong on Wednesday evening. This is a great achievement and he has clearly enjoyed a fantastic season, sitting fifth in the premiership and having guided Beauty Generation to a sensational Hong Kong Mile win.
Tomorrow is our annual 18 Districts Cup meeting and I am delighted to gather with many of our friends and partners from different local districts. Race 9 is the Sapphire Handicap, a Class 2 event over 1600m and has drawn a field of 11. For this race, the pace is likely to be good-to-slow, with Eastern Express the anticipated leader. Easy Go Easy Win and Sergeant Titanium should track the speed with Jolly Jolly and Simply Brilliant. Simply Invincible should slot into midfield with Keen Venture and Star Majestic behind, while Citron Spirit could get a wide trip.
Easy Go Easy Win has been most consistent from four starts in Hong Kong with one win and two finishes beaten not more than a half-length, one of which was behind the impressive Conte. Trainer John Moore has added blinkers after he drifted a bit in his last race before running on late, but Eastern Express had the jump on him that day. I will make Easy Go Easy Win, who is working very well, my main win and place selection.
Sergeant Titanium was just beaten by Ruthven last time and is drawn well again in barrier one for jockey Brett Prebble. He should enjoy a nice trip and rarely runs a poor race and is a win and place chance, as is Simply Brilliant who is working very well and might be better acclimatised now in Hong Kong having earned his first win last time. Eastern Express may have to work harder to get to the lead from a wide barrier, but holds claims for a place. Citron Spirit is another working well, but he could be caught wide which might hurt his chances.
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