First, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks for the caring and kind words that many of you have sent to me over the past week. Your thoughts have helped my family and I overcome such a difficult period after my father’s passing.
It was a terrific day of racing for one and all at Sha Tin on Sunday. The battle between two top athletes in Zac Purton and Joao Moreira brought plenty of excitement for racegoers and fans. Hong Kong is known the world over for the strength of its jockey roster, and the back and forth nature of Zac and Joao’s struggle to be named Champion Jockey this season has become a major talking point globally.
Both Zac and Joao notched four wins apiece on Sunday, meaning that Zac still holds a three-win advantage. There are 19 races remaining in the season across our final two fixtures at Happy Valley on Wednesday and Sha Tin next Sunday, so the Magic Man will need to pull a rabbit out of the hat if he is to stop the Zac Attack.
It was also a great thrill to see Glorious Forever break the Sha Tin 2000m course record that had been held by his full-brother and two-time G1 winner Time Warp. This talented galloper raced a bit keenly behind the speed early, but he showed his versatility and surged home strongly to finish the race in 1m 59.53s. It was a performance that underlined his credentials going forward and he is showing plenty of promise. The same applies to HKIS graduate Pakistan Friend, who carried the famous silks of Owner Kerm Din and another HKIS graduate in Pakistan Star. Pakistan Friend, a three-year-old graduate of this year’s March sale, scored an emphatic come-from-behind win on his debut at Sha Tin on Sunday.
Tonight we will be staging our Happy Valley finale for the season. Changes to the card yesterday have given Joao a full book on the eight-race card while Zac has six rides, so that means we will have six of the eight races featuring a clash between the two titans. Our odds-makers initially set Joao as a $2.3 favourite for tonight’s Jockey Challenge, compared to $3 for Zac, so tonight may prove a good opportunity for Joao to get within striking distance ahead of Sunday’s Season Finale.
The feature is the seventh race, a Class 2 at 1200 metres with an expanded rating band of 105-80. A good pace is expected with Jumbo Luck, Magic Legend, Gunnison and E-Super expected to show speed and many others in close pursuit.
Gunnison showed his best in his only start at Happy Valley and gave every indication that he may be a horse for the course. He is a win and place chance tonight as he is well drawn and should get every chance from a box seat run. Solomon’s Bay is the choice of Joao Moreira and he comes into the race nicely off a solid trial last week. He looks like a horse that may be best suited over 1400 and I have him as a place chance tonight. Magic Legend showed good speed in his last start and may enjoy the turn back in trip. He is a place chance along with the late-running Archippus, an ISG that makes the final appearance of an impressive 9-win career and stakes money won of over $9.4 million.
Jumbo Luck comes into the race after winning his last two in this same grade but he has missed some recent trackwork. His recent form is impressive, but his best races have come at Sha Tin.
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