Sunday’s racing at Sha Tin was remarkable. Champions Day was a true spectacle that must have been seen to be believed. I must first start with the Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup and the win from Pakistan Star. This display from the gelded son of Shamardal, bred in Germany and purchased by the Club’s team of Nick Columb and Mark Richards for the Hong Kong International Sale, was just exceptional.
The roar from the Sha Tin crowd was perhaps the loudest I can recall, all in unison for one horse that has showed so much potential, but with some definite quirks in his personality. Pakistan Star showed his uniqueness in his racecourse gallop when preparing for the 2016 HKIS, and then again in his first two starts of 2016, when being last to break and storming down the turf to land memorable wins.
His progression through the Classic Series was solid without winning, and his second to Neorealism in last year’s 2017 APQEII Cup was the same. Then the quirky personality of Pakistan Star came to the fore in the Premier Plate, and again in his later barrier trial. A late start to his 2017/18 season saw Sunday’s race as only his fourth of the season and he finally put it all together for a dominant win, the second-fastest 2000m APQEII Cup in its history, bettered only by Jim And Tonic’s 1999 score.
The raw emotion displayed by our racing fans was so exciting. Having closely followed Pakistan Star since his Reunification Day debut in July 2016, it was as if our racing fans were energetically saluting the gelding that had captured them from the start, but failed to live up to his obvious talent…until that explosive kick in the final 300m.
My many congratulations to Owner Kerm Din and his family, as well as to trainer Tony Cruz and his team who have helped unlock the potential within Pakistan Star. Jockey William Buick did a great job getting the horse to settle and will be forever remembered amongst Hong Kong fans for this win.
The other racing action on the day was also quite memorable with Ivictory taking a big step forward and bettering our Hong Kong Sprint winner Mr Stunning and Sprint Cup victor Beat The Clock, both stablemates. In fact, John Size has recorded a remarkable eight of the nine placings from the three Group 1 sprints run in Hong Kong this year. Zac Purton gave Ivictory a perfect ride, winning in his pattern-level debut.
Beauty Generation has won three Group 1 races on the season between 1400m and 1600m and is in the driver’s seat for year-ending honours, at the very least, in the miler division, and potentially more.
As I mentioned on Sunday, I am most thankful for the support of our racing fans at the inaugural Champions Day – total attendance between our racecourses was more than 48,000, the highest for a meeting which included the APQEII Cup in a decade. Turnover was also a record for such a meeting. We were also thankful for the major racing operations of Godolphin and Sunday Racing for participating and anticipate more international attendees for this day in the future. I am sure you all enjoyed the world-class sport on offer and will look forward to how these horses continue to progress beyond Champions Day.
Racing continues tonight at Sha Tin with an all-weather meeting. The feature goes as Race 4, the Victoria Racing Club Trophy, a Class 2 handicap over 1650m of the dirt. The Victoria Racing Club Trophy was first presented on 21 March 1987 and has been offered annually since. The VRC are the hosts of the great Melbourne Cup and other top Group 1 races, including the Victoria Derby during their famed Carnival.
This race is run with an extended rating band of 105 to 80, which gives Packing Dragon and Classic Emperor the opportunity to run in this race as they are rated 104 and 102, respectively. The track condition of the all-weather is expected to be good given the likely stable weather today.
The pace is expected to be good with Blocker Dee likely to race forward and Classic Emperor, back from Dubai, also showing speed. Packing Dragon is also known to show early speed and will likely be forwardly placed. Calculation should settle in midpack with Perpetual Joyance and Beauty Prince behind. Fight Hero and Divine Boy are expected to race from the back.
Calculation is my first choice being in good form, working very well and returns to the 1650m, which seems to be his best distance having won a Class 3 over course and distance. He confirmed his dirt track ability, and was given a rating increase following both that win and a second over 1200m on the Dirt in a Class 2.
Classic Emperor’s performance on the dirt over 1650m was good before leaving for his unsuccessful attempts in Dubai on their completely different dirt track. While his track work is ok, it is in my view not as good as before leaving, and many horses that return from Dubai need some time to come back to their best.
I see him more as a place chance especially with the increase in rating to 102. He beat Beauty Prince in January on a rating of 96, while Beauty Prince had a rating of 83 and was beaten only by half a length. Beauty Prince is now on a mark of 91 but as he did not travel to Dubai, and won his last start over course and distance, I see him as a win and place chance.
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