Revered as a premier late-season staying test, the Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2400m) at Sha Tin on Sunday marks the 12th and final G1 contest of Hong Kong’s season.
Cherished and respected because of its long and colourful history, the Champions & Chater Cup was founded in 1870 and is the appropriate bookend to the Club’s G1 calendar.
Oozing history, one of the enduring characteristics of the mile and a half assignment is the collection of stars who have succeeded on multiple occasions in the race – and with Exultant in Sunday’s edition, there is a chance Tony Cruz might claim his eighth victory in the race in nine years with Hong Kong’s reigning Horse of the Year.
As a dual winner of the Cup, Exultant attempts to join Viva Pataca, Super Win and Silver Lining as a three-time winner of the race, leaving only River Verdon, who triumphed for four years in a row from 1991-94 before the race distance was increased to 2400m in 1995, as the most successful horse in the Cup’s history.
It is now more than five months since the first G1s of the Hong Kong season were contested during the memorable LONGINES HKIR day on 13 December and it is worth recalling that the horse who chased home Aidan O’Brien’s Mogul in the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m) that day was Exultant.
While Mogul gave the Irish plenty to celebrate, Danon Smash (Sprint) and Normcore (Cup) ensured the Japanese jubilated similarly, while Golden Sixty claimed the first of his four G1s in the LONGINES Hong Kong Mile.
Since then, Golden Sixty has continued on a captivating winning streak for Francis Lui and Vincent Ho, annexing the Stewards’ Cup, the Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup and the FWD Champions Mile in rapid succession.
Wellington (Chairman’s Sprint Prize), Hot King Prawn (Centenary Sprint Cup) and Japan’s Loves Only You (FWD QEII Cup) all posted G1 triumphs on Hong Kong soil for the first time while John Size’s Waikuku claimed the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup.
As the winner of all four of Hong Kong’s middle distance G1 contests – the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase, the FWD QEII Cup, Hong Kong Gold Cup and the past two editions of the Champions & Chater – Exultant remains the yardstick locally.
The Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup is carded as the eighth race over the demanding distance of 2400 metres and Exultant seeks a third consecutive victory in this prestigious event after being sent to Conghua Racecourse for three weeks to freshened up after finishing fifth behind Loves Only You in the G1 FWD QEII Cup (2000m) on 25 April. He showed the benefit of the change of environment with a 1000m trial win at Conghua on 13 May before returning to Sha Tin.
Exultant has been incredibly consistent throughout his distinguished Hong Kong racing career and has finished second on four occasions this season from six starts, including the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase over this trip in December. Zac Purton, who took off his mounts due to back spasms after winning the first race at Happy Valley on Wednesday night, is named to ride.
Exultant will go forward to sit behind familiar rival Time Warp (Harry Bentley) with honest sectionals to ensure a good to slow pace. They are the clear leaders. Exultant’s class and consistency makes him a win and place chance.
Glorious Dragon tackles the trip for the first time and is much improved this season. He will be ridden quietly by Vincent Ho and should finish the race off well as a place chance along with Russian Emperor (Alexis Badel) and the in-form Butterfield (Matthew Poon). Russian Emperor was the victim of a muddling pace in his last start, while Butterfield continues to improve and is a winner over the course and distance when he captured the Queen Mother Memorial Cup three weeks ago.
Columbus County (Joao Moreira) is much better placed at set weights and last start endured a rough race in the Queen Mother Memorial Cup when he was crowded and checked in the early part of the race. He is also a place chance.
The fourth race is the G3 Sha Tin Vase over 1200 metres and Courier Wonder (Joao Moreira) will start a short-priced favourite as he takes another step up in class and puts his undefeated record on the line. He gets in with a light weight in the handicap conditions and will be on the pace from the outset and is a win and place chance. Courier Wonder has the potential to be next season’s champion sprinter if he stays sounds and develops further.
He is still only a three-year-old and having only his fifth start on Sunday when he takes on battle-proven sprinters with many of them boasting G1 and G2 form, including upcoming talents such as Computer Patch (Matthew Chadwick), Sky Field (Blake Shinn) and Stronger (Vincent Ho).
Computer Patch will engage Courier Wonder early but must give his younger rival 14 pounds at the weights, a significant weight advantage for John Size’s sprinter, who shapes as a truly exciting prospect.
This is a good race for many of our younger horses that have shown promise this season. Courier Wonder is the youngest galloper in the field, while the place chances are four-year-olds Computer Patch, Sky Field and Stronger – but all of them have to concede Courier Wonder weight under the Sha Tin Vase’s handicap conditions.
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