The world has changed into a very different place since Douglas Whyte recorded his first winner as a trainer on the opening day of the 2019/20 season at Sha Tin last September.
Douglas was in the headlines again with a Happy Valley double on Wednesday but, ten months on from his first win, Hong Kong’s news is now dominated by the ongoing Covid-19 situation and a worrying new spike in infections.
Tighter social distancing rules will return to our city this weekend, with restaurants operating at a maximum capacity of 60 per cent occupancy with no more than eight people at a table, but the best practices we have put in place at both our racecourses over the last six months are already in line with this.
Recent developments mean it is sensible to keep Off-Course Betting Branches closed on raceday for our final two fixtures but the wide range of public health and social distancing measures that have enabled racing to continue remain in force. It is also important to note that, for the moment, we have suspended services like account opening and reduced services to an essential level to minimise close contact between staff and customers.
Sha Tin’s final meeting is always a time for celebration and reflection and this Sunday’s meeting could be vital in deciding the trainers’ championship, with Ricky Yiu one ahead of Francis Lui and Tony Cruz just three off the pace as we head towards next Wednesday’s Season Finale at the Valley.
Tony knows all about last-day drama at our city track as he went head to head with Dennis Yip on an amazing night seven years ago only to miss out on the title in the very last race. Time will tell whether we are in for a similar cliffhanger this year but all three trainers have everything to play for and the fact that a trio of homegrown handlers all have the title within reach with just 20 races left can only be good for Hong Kong racing.
Tony, Ricky and Francis have all made major contributions to the Sha Tin season. Ricky recorded his biggest success of the year when Voyage Warrior came down from Conghua to land the Sprint Cup, while Exultant has been dominant for Tony in a range of top races and Golden Sixty’s clean sweep of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series for Francis and Vincent Ho has been perhaps the story of the season.
Vincent confirmed himself an elite rider with a thrilling first international Group 1 success when Southern Legend got the better of an epic duel with Beauty Generation in the FWD Champions Mile but we shouldn’t forget that the runner-up still made a major mark.
As I said earlier, the world has changed dramatically since that opening day back in September. However, it shouldn’t be forgotten that Beauty Generation was saluted as the world’s top miler in the World’s Best Rachorse Rankings for his win in October’s Celebration Cup and went on to become the first horse to pass HK$100 million in prize money, matching Silent Witness’s record of 18 wins, by winning the Chairman’s Trophy.
Sha Tin has always been a place where world-class horses can thrive. The focus may be on the trainers this weekend but there are eleven strong races on the menu and I wish you all the best as our flagship track takes centre stage for the final Sunday in what has been the most dramatic season in Hong Kong racing history.
The Class 1 Sha Tin Mile Trophy and the Class 2 Hong Kong Racehorse Owners Association Trophy over 1400m headline a spectacular finale to the Sha Tin season. The Sha Tin Mile Trophy is race four and the pace will be below average. Kings Shield will make the running with token pressure from Jolly Banner and General’s Delight, and the race has the making of a sit and sprint.
Fast Most Furious gets the services of Champion Jockey Zac Purton and his last race was a good one in the Group 3 Lion Rock Trophy. He finished strongly despite trouble and a similar effort here makes him a win and place chance. General’s Delight has good recent form over course and distance and gets in with a light weight for Douglas and Karis Teetan. I make him a place chance along with Preciousship. Jolly Banner defied his age as a rising nine-year-old with a solid win in the Group 3 Premier Cup but he shoulders 17lb more over added distance here in what appears a difficult assignment.
The HKROA Trophy is the ninth race with Beauty Applause and Beauty Rush the likely leaders. Fantasy and Young Legend will be in close contention to keep the pace honest. Beauty Applause had a difficult trip when first up off a four month break in his last start and closed the race off nicely. He is a win and place chance under Joao Moreira. Young Legend will get a nice run from close to the pace and is a place chance along with the fast finishing Mongolian King. Amazing Chocolate is also a place chance after winning three of his last four races. He made short work of Class 3 and is much improved.
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