Where do you begin with a race like Celebration Cup?
The advance promotion bills the clash between Beauty Generation and Golden Sixty as a heavyweight battle between the Master Miler and the Golden Boy of Hong Kong racing. It’s a neat way of flagging up one of the most eagerly awaited duels we have seen at Sha Tin in a long while but there are so many interesting subplots to Sunday’s feature event.
Beauty Generation turned eight in the summer and that is the age when high-class racehorses usually start to find their powers waning. But this is no ordinary horse and, having excelled for John Moore, he bids to win this for a fourth year in a row on his debut for David Hayes.
Three years ago Beauty Generation was the young pretender carrying just 113lb in the first Group race of our season; two years ago he shouldered top weight of 133lb as he gave 10lb and a handsome beating to Derby winner Ping Hai Star; and last year he put up one of the greatest handicap performances in Hong Kong history by conceding 20lb to Ka Ying Star and 18lb and 14lb to subsequent G1 winners Waikuku and Southern Legend.
History beckons as our most famous horse bids to become the first horse in over 25 years to win the same pattern race four years in a row and the first horse ever to win 19 times in Hong Kong. However, perhaps the key angle for Sunday’s showdown is not what Beauty Generation is chasing but what is chasing him.
Most Derby winners tend to be tested fairly quickly after their Classic success by taking on the best older horses at level weights over 2000m in the QEII Cup. By contrast, Golden Sixty has been given an extended break by Francis Lui and as a result he receives 18lb from his main rival this weekend.
Of course, both camps can easily make a persuasive case for their horse. Golden Sixty is the fastest winner in BMW Hong Kong Derby history and capable of producing a devastating closing sectional from off the pace, while Beauty Generation’s ability to put high-class rivals in a world of trouble from the front has made him one of the world’s most destructive horses for a long time now.
So many major racing nations are taking significant hits due to COVID-19 this year but recent evidence shows that Hong Kong racing’s profile has never been higher and fans from all over the world will be watching when the gates crash open at 4.35pm on Sunday.
It will take around 80 seconds of unforgiving action to decide the outcome and our tightly-knit handicap system means a surprise is always possible. However, all eyes will be on the Master Miler and the Golden Boy – and this is a race that will go a long way towards shaping the pecking order for the next few months of the Hong Kong season.
The G3 Celebration Cup has been at the mercy of Beauty Generation over the past three years but much has changed since the champ won his first in 2017. He is known as the Master Miler, though I believe he may be even better over this trip of 1400m. In the past three seasons, he is perfect in six starts over this course and distance with three Celebration Cups and three Group 1 Queen’s Silver Jubilees to his credit.
Beauty Generation is top-class with 16 of his 18 wins at Group level and a proven history of being very effective first up. This is evident in the Celebration Cup, a race he has won by a clear margin each time as his first race of the season. This time, he concedes 18lbs to Golden Sixty, the newest star on the scene and bidding to do what Beauty Generation did three years ago and win this Group race off a light weight.
The three horses drawn inside, Beauty Generation, Golden Sixty and Ka Ying Star, are top class with a proven record of running well fresh. Ka Ying Star will help make the running with Beauty Generation in a stalking position and the lightly rated Buddies pressing forward. Southern Legend, Champion’s Way and Golden Sixty will be in the next flight and the rest will go back. The pace will be honest.
Golden Sixty is not at full fitness for his return but his big turn of foot, favourable break at the weights and ability to run well fresh are good attributes. He is a win and place chance under regular rider Vincent Ho. It will be interesting to see how fast his closing sectionals might be. The incredibly consistent Beauty Generation is a place chance along with the vastly-improved Dances With Dragon and Rattan.
Ka Ying Star has been a bit overlooked in the hype of the highly anticipated showdown and gets 7lbs from the champ. It took a track record performance to defeat him last year in this same race when he was getting 20lbs and he has since improved. He does run well fresh and also a place chance in this high-class contest. A fascinating battle awaits, though it is worth repeating that a win for an outsider is possible given that this is a stepping stone to greater things for the top horses.
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