Several things became clear on a drizzly night at Happy Valley on Wednesday.
Zac Purton will have to do something he has done twice before and overcome a double digit deficit to beat Joao Moreira in the race for the jockeys’ championship.
Joao’s four-timer took him ten clear at the top of the table as we enter the third month of the season, while Caspar Fownes is six clear on the trainers’ list after a double with the very promising Sky Darci and Columbus County.
These latest dramas played out in front of an enthusiastic gathering of owners, members and fans but the pandemic continues to take a heavy toll on some of the world’s most significant racing festivals. The UK’s entire Flat season is destined to come and go with no crowds in attendance, while next week’s Breeders’ Cup in Kentucky will take place without racegoers and Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup will have neither fans nor even owners at Flemington.
Even those of us who always suspected that the road back to normality would be long and challenging have had to rethink as the full scale of Covid has become apparent, but Hong Kong’s prudent policies of the last ten months are gradually paying dividends and it is good to report some new developments taken in line with Government’s further relaxed anti-epidemic measures.
After careful consideration of different factors including the operation of Off-Course Betting Branches and the demand of customers, the Club has decided to open 19 OCBBs for betting and customer services on race days from 1 November. All usual public health measures remain in place and only audio broadcast will be provided in betting halls. The Club has also decided that, from 10 November, Mark Six draws will be held twice a week on Tuesday and Friday.
Sunday’s Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse day won’t have the same high fashion feel as usual this year, of course, but people with advance bookings can now have five guests at their table and anyone who has been racing of late will testify that the atmosphere at our two tracks has been improving week on week.
Looking further afield, the fact that France and Germany have both headed back into full lockdown shows that the Coronavirus crisis still has a long way to run. Time will tell how much these developments impact HKIR plans but, for the moment we can look forward to an excellent Sunday at Sha Tin in the knowledge that Hong Kong and its racing industry are moving forward together with small but very significant steps as this uniquely challenging year continues.
Sunday’s G3 Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse brings together many of Hong Kong’s top middle distance horses over 1800m in what shapes up as a sit and sprint contest. Time Warp makes his seasonal debut after a short prep and will take up his usual spot making the pace. He will have things his own way with Southern Legend, Chefano, Dark Dream, Furore and Super Oasis in close pursuit. The pace will be slow.
Furore is second up after a nice freshening at Conghua and the 2019 Derby winner is well placed to show big improvement. He is well drawn and should get a nice run from inside midfield with Moreira taking the ride for the first time. He is winless over his last 12 runs but has run in the top three on four occasions against high-class opposition during that period. He is a win and place chance and so is the lightly weighted Savvy Nine, who is working well and should improve further from his last run when he rallied well out wide.
Dances With Dragon was a G1 winner in New Zealand as a three-year-old before coming to Hong Kong on a rating of 86. He has won four of his last eight races since moving to trainer Caspar Fownes to re-establish himself and is a two-time winner over course and distance. He is a place chance. Stablemate Southern Legend has had the same prep that proved successful when he won this race last season and is set to run another big race here. He is also a place chance.
Reigning Horse of the Year Exultant must carry top weight in his first race in over five months. He is incredibly consistent and will be closing ground late as a place chance as he eyes HKIR in December as his primary goal.
Our busy simulcast programme continues on Sunday when six HKIR entrants – namely Almond Eye, Chrono Genesis, Win Bright, Cadenas, Danon Premium and Danon Kingly – bid to follow in the footsteps of previous dual HKIR hero Maurice by winning the Tenno Sho Autumn over 2000m.
Win Bright returns from a break having won last year’s QEII Cup and Hong Kong Cup, Chrono Genesis is a high-class filly fresh from a runaway defeat of Kiseki in the Takarazuka Kinen in June, while Fierement is another place chance having won the Tenno Sho Spring over 3200m two years running.
However, the star attraction for most people will be Almond Eye, a seven-time G1 winner who ran away with this race last year. Almond Eye has been beaten in two of her three runs since but she will be suited by this return to 2000m. Her midweek work under Christophe Lemaire suggests that she is ready to peak again and she is clearly the one to beat in her quest to become Japan’s first horse ever to capture eight G1 turf wins.
OCBB’s opening on race days are as follows:
Hankow Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Nathan Centre, Mong Kok
Castle Peak Road, Cheung Sha Wan
Tai Po Road, Shek Kip Mei
Sheung On Street, Chai Wan
King’s Road, Quarry Bay
Stanley Street, Central
Electric Road, North Point
Jaffe Road, Causeway Bay
Kwun Tong Plaza
Ngau Tau Kok
Telford, Kowloon Bay
Shung Ling Street, San Po Kong
Tuen Mun Town Plaza
Tin Shui Wai
Castle Peak Road, Tsuen Wan
Shek Wu Hui, Sheung Shui
Wing Fong Road, Kwai Chung
Kwai Fong
Opening hours of OCBBs from 1 November are as follows:
19 designated OCBBs
Day race meetings – 9am to 9.30pm
Night race meetings – 12nn to 11.15pm
Mark Six draw days – 12nn to 9.30pm
Other days – 12nn to 8pm
Other OCBBs
Day race meetings – Closed
Night race meetings – 12nn to 6pm
Mark Six draw days – 12nn to 9.30 pm
Other days – 12nn to 8pm
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