One golden image stands out from a significant Sha Tin Sunday that contained a few big surprises.
Hong Kong’s famous sprint division is in a period of transition at the moment and Wishful Thinker took full advantage of a punishing gallop under Derek Leung to spring a 44-1 surprise in the Premier Bowl.
Time will tell if this form proves fully reliable by the time we get to the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint in December but the news that Saturday’s runaway Everest winner Classique Legend has entered quarantine before heading to continue his career in Hong Kong is very exciting.
Owner Boniface Ho clearly has an exceptional horse on his hands and he sees Hong Kong as the ideal place for Classique Legend, who will add a fascinating layer of interest to our big 1200m races and have the full support of the Club as he uses Hong Kong as a hub for possible international campaigns.
Back on the home front, we have sailed into unfamiliar waters with our top two riders. Zac Purton and Joao Moreira usually operate at a strike rate of around one winner from every five rides but others have taken centre stage of late. Zac is in the unusual position of having gone 23 rides without a winner, while Joao has just one from his last 18 rides, and Sunday was the first time since April 2019 that both men drew a blank on the same card.
Form is temporary and class is permanent, so it may be some time before that happens again, but it has been great to see Karis Teetan, Vincent Ho and Derek making the most of their opportunities and Vincent’s relentless progress has gone hand in hand with Golden Sixty’s development from a promising Class 4 newcomer to a genuine star with international Group 1 potential.
It was interesting to hear both Vincent and Francis Lui stressing how Golden Sixty was much more settled and relaxed in the paddock and behind the gates before his G2 debut in Sunday’s Oriental Watch Sha Tin Trophy.
That more mature mentality enabled Golden Sixty to channel all his energy into the race itself and he put up yet another striking performance, producing his trademark burst of acceleration to settle matters then running lazily once his work was done. The final step to elite Group 1 level can be tricky – especially if international stars are in town – but here is a horse who looks extremely well equipped to take it in his stride.
Once again the clock backed up the impressive visual impression, as Golden Sixty powered through his final two 400m sectionals in a rapid 22.5s followed by a highly impressive 21.81s. What is more, it seems he is still developing physically as Sunday’s racing weight of 1,100lb was his heaviest since he made his racecourse debut back in March of last year.
The fact that Golden Sixty is still improving is a scary thought for anyone planning to take him on in the coming months and to have a horse like this representing an owner, trainer and rider who are all Hong Kong through and through is a dream ticket in terms of advertising what our sport is all about.
Wednesday’s Class 3 Po Chong Wan Handicap over 1200m is the final race of the night at Happy Valley with Flying Bonus, Prince Of Gems, Cue The Music and Cantstopthefeeling likely to make the running. Amazing Kiwi, Californiadeepshot and High Rise Soldier will be in the next flight behind the leaders. The pace will be good.
Prince Of Gems has shown good form this season after returning from an extended layoff. He has drawn inside for his first-ever start at Happy Valley and will get a soft run behind Flying Bonus. He has trialled previously at the Valley and is a win and place chance for Antoine Hamelin.
Californiadeepshot has also drawn a favourable gate and will get a good run from midfield. This is his second start of the season and improvement is likely. He is a place chance along with pace setter Flying Bonus and last start winner Amazing Kiwi.
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