And so we come to a day that everyone in Hong Kong racing has been working towards. LONGINES Hong Kong International Races has showcased the best of Hong Kong racing to the world through four decades now and the build-up to the 2020 renewal has been the most challenging on record.
From the moment we started moving into the Racing Bubble back in late January, the Club has been striving constantly to ensure racing continues safely and sensibly in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Minimising the risk to staff and customers has been our guiding principle throughout. There have been anxious moments, including over the last few days. However, an attitude of Can Do and Playing to win has always served us well. The fact that we have not lost a single race is a tribute to a large number of people – including racing professionals – and where there are challenges we must overcome them.
Our sincere thanks also go out to our fantastic teams who have worked incredibly hard, setting the stage for international competition between world-class horses and jockeys on a track that is in perfect condition and ensuring that all the necessary logistics and quarantine arrangements have been in place for our overseas visitors. I must also thank all the connections for sending their stars to Hong Kong and the overseas riders who have come here in difficult circumstances.
It has been an eventful week for our champion jockey Zac Purton, who won his second LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship at Happy Valley on a night when Joao Moreira, Hollie Doyle and Alexis Badel also made their mark in a field of 12 high-class riders.
Staging what is normally one of the biggest party nights in world racing with no racegoers at the Valley made for a surreal atmosphere and it will be very similar at Sha Tin on Sunday when HKIR day takes place without its usual crowd of 80,000 plus.
But, for the moment, these are the times we are living in. Racing has provided an invaluable source of enjoyment for millions of people in Hong Kong and globally during this unprecedented year and a huge international audience will be tuning in to our television coverage on Sunday for four G1 contests that will answer any number of tantalising questions.
Zac will bid to surpass Gerald Mosse as the most successful rider in HKIR history when our Horse of the Year Exultant goes up against Aidan O’Brien’s Mogul in the Vase, while Classique Legend makes his Hong Kong debut for Caspar Fownes as the highest-rated 1200m horse in the world in the Sprint.
Golden Sixty and Vincent Ho stand on the verge of international stardom if they deliver another command performance against Beauty Generation and last year’s winner Admire Mars in a compelling Mile, while the fact that Aidan has sent his exceptional globetrotting mare Magical to take on Furore and a powerful Japanese presence in the Cup provides our biggest day with a fitting climax.
The challenges of 2020 will still be present as we move into 2021 but our wonderful sport plays a vital part in elevating so many lives, especially at times like this, and Sunday provides the chance for a huge audience to leave the real world behind for a few hours and focus purely on the spectacle of brilliant equine and human performers operating at the very peak of their powers.
As ever, the Club has done all it can to provide a suitable stage for the stars to perform on. That stage is fully set after the barrier draw and the final all-important workouts and I have no doubt that, as in the past, those stars will put on a show in the finest traditions of HKIR.
Cup provides a Magical climax to HKIR day
The LONGINES Hong Kong Vase is the first of the four Group 1 races and will be run as Race 4 over 2400m. The pace will be slow with Exultant and Playa Del Puente making the running and the race will take the shape of a sit and sprint.
Mogul is a Group 1 winner over the distance and failed to make an impression when stuck behind a slow pace in the Breeders’ Cup Turf in his last start. He will do his running from the back and has performed well in the past on right-handed tracks. He is a win and place chance.
Hong Kong reigning Horse of the Year Exultant has all the qualities of a good horse. He is consistent, versatile and top class. He is a place chance along with the improving Columbus County.
Next up is the LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint where Computer Patch and Big Time Baby will set the pace with Hot King Prawn well placed behind the leaders. Classique Legend has drawn the inside gate but will go back behind midfield.
Hot King Prawn is a win and place chance after an impressive win in the G2 Jockey Club Sprint three weeks ago. He comes into this race in career-best form and the race maps nicely for his running style.
Voyage Warrior returns from his Conghua home and is moving in the right direction. He is a place chance along with Computer Patch and the late-running Rattan. Classique Legend is the world’s top-rated sprinter but he was perfectly prepared for a career-best Everest win, which earned him an International Rating increase from 117 to 125. To win this Hong Kong Sprint he has to run to at least 120, which is not easy having gone through quarantine in Australia and Hong Kong with vaccinations and other formalities. While his first trial was moderate he has shown some improvement and can run a place, while Danon Smash has in my view improved from last year. The draw will make it difficult for him to win but with Ryan Moore aboard I see him as a chance to run a place.
The LONGINES Hong Kong Mile is very strong with a lot of depth and will be a real challenge for Golden Sixty. Ka Ying Star will take up his usual spot making the running with Mighty Giant, Beauty Generation and Order Of Australia to keep him honest. Beauty Generation has looked good in his trackwork and I would not be surprised to see him put pressure on Ka Ying Star because he cannot win if it comes to a sprint over the last 400m.
Golden Sixty has looked perfect in his trackwork and has had an ideal preparation. In my view he has all the ingredients to be one of the best milers in the world with his amazing ability to quicken and run closing sectionals of 21.8s on a regular basis which only very good horses can do. Vincent Ho is very humble and fully deserves the success he has gained this year. He has to be careful not to be trapped for a run but I am sure he is the right jockey for Golden Sixty, who is clearly a win and place chance.
Order Of Australia won the Breeders’ Cup Mile at long odds from gate 14 in his last start. He draws inside this time and will get every opportunity as a place chance, along with last year’s Mile winner Admire Mars and Ka Ying Star. Admire Mars ran a big race when travelling wide and without cover in the G1 Mile Championship in Japan three weeks ago. Last year’s runner-up Waikuku returns from a long layoff for John Size and is an interesting addition to a very competitive race.
The LONGINES Hong Kong Cup is the main event over 2000m and features top horses from Ireland, France and Japan. Time Warp and Danon Premium will set a good tempo and this will be a true test. Magical has drawn inside and she will appreciate the pace from close attendance. Furore will be midfield and both Skalleti and Win Bright will take aim from the back. This will be a good one.
Magical is a win and place chance based on class. She is one of the world’s best and the race is set up to her liking. Danon Premium has looked good for Japan in his track work and is second up after a good effort in the Tenno Sho Autumn. He is a place chance along with in-form runners Skalleti from France and Furore for Hong Kong.
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