Sunday at Sha Tin played host to a rousing win for an emerging star and the triumphant return of a past champion.
Beat The Clock scooped the first pattern win of his career in the G2 Sprint Cup. Only a four-year-old, he defeated his Group 1-winning stablemate Mr Stunning by a neck, but his ability to quicken sensationally behind a slow pace from last to first was striking. He completed the last 400m in 21.03 seconds, the fastest final 400m ever recorded in a 1200m race at Sha Tin, and what is actually the second-fastest final 400m registered in Hong Kong. Sacred Kingdom’s clocked 21.00 seconds for his final 400m in the 2010 Centenary Sprint Cup, the only split faster than what Beat The Clock managed on Sunday.
Beat The Clock has proven he is at top level now earning this Group 2 win following strong runner-up finishes behind D B Pin and Beauty Generation in Group 1 events earlier this campaign. Should he reproduce Sunday’s performance in his next start, expected to be the HK$16 million Chairman’s Sprint Prize, he should have every chance to make his G1 breakthrough soon.
Beauty Only recaptured the glory from his 2016 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile win when landing the Chairman’s Trophy as a 36/1 longshot. The pace for this race was particularly quicker than expected and that may have been an advantage for Beauty Only and his rider Neil Callan, who were winning this race for the second time having claimed it in April 2016. Last season’s Champion Miler performed well on several occasions without running a first three placing this term, but he produced that acceleration we have seen on many occasions in the past and proved he is still highly competitive.
We announced the selected runners for the Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup at noon today and I look forward to discussing the local and overseas runners selected for the race, along with those in the Champions Mile and Chairman’s Sprint Prize, in forthcoming blogs. Our inaugural Champions Day will produce some incredibly exciting sport and I hope you will join us on 29 April as these three Group 1 races will be contested on the same day for the first time.
Racing returns to Valley for the first time in a fortnight this evening and the Class 2 feature is Race 7, the Pottinger Peak Handicap over 1650m of the A Course. The pace is expected to be good to slow with Infinity Endeavour as a possible leader stretching out to 1650m. Star Majestic and Circuit Glory will likely settle just behind in handy positions while Litterateur, who can be tricky to handle, might settle midpack from his inside draw.
Patriot Hero is drawn wide and could press forward if he is unable to find cover. Winning Faith will be near the back.
Both Litterateur and Winning Faith are on winning streaks and in great form at the moment, with Litterateur working particularly well. They each are win and place chances tonight yet again as they seek to continue their fine runs. Infinity Endeavour may have a tactical advantage if he goes forward tonight over this extended trip. Patriot Hero and Circuit Glory are both place hopes.
One very interesting horse is Star Majestic who returns to Happy Valley and his favourite distance, the 1650m where he has six of his seven wins in Hong Kong. I would not ignore his chances.
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