The international racing season is in full flow now and two European visitors from last year’s LONGINES HKIR meeting were firmly in the spotlight at Longchamp on Sunday.
All eyes were on Enable and Frankie Dettori in their bid to win a historic third Arc but John Gosden’s mare was worn down at the end of a thrilling race as Waldgeist – an unlucky fifth when badly bumped in Exultant’s Hong Kong Vase last December – gave Andre Fabre a remarkable eighth win in Europe’s most famous race.
Andre has been one of the world’s truly great trainers for well over 30 years now has tasted high-level Hong Kong success thanks to Borgia and Flintshire winning the Vase in 1999 and 2014 respectively.
Waldgeist is a classic example of Andre’s ability to get a horse to deliver on the big day and the victory was made all the more special to witness on a personal level as the winner comes from a famous German family and is also owned by two friends of mine, namely Dr von Boetticher and Dr Jacobs.
Dylan Thomas was the last Arc winner to come to Hong Kong back in 2007 and, of course, it would be our pleasure to welcome Waldgeist again if connections decide to try and make amends for last year’s unlucky run.
Last year’s Hong Kong Mile contender One Master was another to showcase Sha Tin form on Sunday with her second consecutive Prix de la Foret success under Waldgeist’s rider Pierre-Charles Boudot.
Time will tell if we see her again in Hong Kong but her latest international G1 success, along with those recorded by Japanese stars like Deirdre and Lys Gracieux, continue to show last year’s HKIR in a very favourable light indeed.
The countdown to this year’s HKIR is already under way and, with a little over eight weeks to go, we are hoping to attract high-class horses from all over the world to contest four exceptional G1 contests worth a total of HK$93 million in prize money.
This year presents different challenges than usual but last year’s historic clean sweep for Hong Kong horses shows how strong the competition is nowadays and the next few weeks will be highly informative in helping assess whether the home team can rise to the challenge again.
Moving on to matters closer to hand, Wednesday’s Class 2 Japan Racing Association Trophy will be run as the seventh of nine races over 1650m with Circuit Glory expected to dictate the pace.
Five of the ten horses in the field are first-up this season and there will be no pace pressure on the leader. For this reason, Circuit Glory is a place chance with the help of Alfred Chan’s 10lb claim for the first time.
Green Luck is back to his preferred trip and looks to get a nice run from midfield under Joao Moreira. He raced a bit closer to the pace in his last start over further and could not make an impression over the concluding stages. He is a win and place chance here.
Harmony Hero has drawn wide in stall nine and it may prove to be a tricky gate due to the pace scenario. He will have to be taken back or he can try to slot in to a midfield position. In either case, his consistent form over the course and distance makes him a place chance along with Dances With Dragon.
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