Optimism is what oils the wheels of horse racing and there was excitement in the air after Voyage Warrior made it two wins from two starts in impressive fashion at Sha Tin on Monday.
Helped by a tailwind but never fully tested in the last 50m, Ricky Yiu’s gelding stopped the clock in 54.89s for the Class 3 dash, just shy of Sacred Kingdom’s 2007 course record, and it is always great to see exciting youngsters coming through.
Sacred Kingdom won the Chairman’s Sprint Prize twice under Ricky’s care in 2008 and 2010. He was a formidable horse for a long period, being named Hong Kong’s champion sprinter four years in a row, and a look back to other past heroes of FWD Champions Day is an excellent way to whet the appetite for this Sunday’s big races.
Silent Witness will always hold a special place in the hearts of Hong Kong racing fans. His two Chairman’s Sprint Prize wins for Tony Cruz in 2004 and 2005 were part of a 17-race winning streak which was only broken when his stablemate Bullish Luck wore him down in the final strides of an unforgettable Champions Mile in 2005.
Of course, racing’s major international occasions benefit hugely from world-class foreign challengers and Champions Day has a rich heritage in that regard.
Jim And Tonic winning the 1999 APQEII Cup for France is a vivid memory from my early days in Hong Kong but Japan have a fine record and Viva Pataca remains Hong Kong’s all-time record prize money earner after winning the race for John Moore and Mick Kinane in 2007.
It took a long time for any international raider to take the Champions Mile away from Hong Kong.
Variety Club made history when he beat a high-class field to take the prize to South Africa in 2014, while Chautauqua and Maurice flew the flag for Australia and Japan by taking the Chairman’s Sprint Prize and the Champions Mile in consecutive races on a memorable day in 2016.
As you can see, these three G1 races have a tremendous history and bringing them together on one day gives them an even higher profile. The last few days before a G1 test are always testing for connections of star horses but we are almost there now and Happy Valley’s midweek meeting will be a perfect lead-in to this week’s main events.
Wednesday’s Class 3 Korea Racing Authority Trophy Handicap at 1200m will feature a good pace with speed coming from outside barriers. Fat Turtle and Planet Star will both go forward coming off solid performances in their last starts. Red Desert makes his Hong Kong debut and will be close to the pace along with Lady First and Casa De Forca.
This is a highly competitive and interesting race with many chances. Split Of A Second has been very consistent over the course and distance and is a win and place chance from his good draw. He will be midfield in the run and should have every chance.
Lady First should get a nice run from his good draw and comes off a good effort at Conghua last month. He is a place chance along with Mr Genuine, whose last race at Conghua can be excused. He will be finishing fast from just worse than midfield over his preferred course and distance.
Fat Turtle, despite the wide draw and big weight, is also a place chance as he has done little wrong in his two Hong Kong races to date.
Planet Star is at his best when he is able to lead and comes out of a sensationally fast race in his last start. He is in top form now but it will be difficult to overcome the wide draw on the C track. Red Desert is an interesting newcomer but has been slow from the gate in his Hong Kong trials.
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