Preparations for LONGINES Hong Kong International Race-day continue at an impressive pace and, with 30 days to go, it is impossible not to be caught up in the growing excitement around the build-up to our flagship meeting.
The presence of Hong Kong’s leading horses at either the races or the trials – as we seen over the past few weeks with Golden Sixty, Wellington, Hot King Prawn and Panfield stepping out – means the major races are just around the corner.
The logistics around the 12 December showpiece require months and months of planning, and the same applies to trainers, owners and jockeys hoping to savour racing’s ultimate achievement in the four G1 features next month.
At Sha Tin on Friday there was a palpable sense of anticipation as Hot King Prawn, Courier Wonder, Panfield and Waikuku stretched out in trials designed to build fitness ahead of next week’s BOCHK Race Day, a traditional pointer to LONGINES HKIR day.
Golden Sixty is slated to resume on 21 November in quest of a 15th straight win and, as Hong Kong’s champion, he will carry the hopes of the city throughout this campaign as he chases history and Silent Witness’ record of 17 successive wins.
The excitement of watching these magnificent equine warriors pitted in battle is tempered by the ongoing battle against COVID-19 and the necessity to ensure the health and safety of all participants – jockeys, trainers, stable staff, officials and spectators – remains the Club’s over-arching priority.
We have worked extremely hard to protect our horse racing community since the outbreak of the virus in early 2020 and we will continue to do so in accordance with HKSAR Government protocols.
From a pure racing performance perspective, one of the features of the current season is the continuing and growing success of horses stabled at Conghua before competing in Hong Kong. After 167 races spread across 18 race meetings to date, there have been 45 winners from Conghua at a strike rate of 26.94 percent.
The connection between Conghua preparation and Sha Tin and Happy Valley performance is indisputable and when that link is further explored, recent history carries a powerful illustration into the value of the Conghua facility.
Caspar Fownes’ march to the 2020/21 championship was marked by 79 victories with a season-topping 29 of those wins coming with horses stabled in Conghua before competing. Sky Darci’s heady BMW Hong Kong Derby triumph stood as the campaign’s most notable Conghua-inspired win.
Frankie Lor, who finished third with 65 wins behind John Size (73) and Caspar last term, was the next most prolific handler with 26 Conghua winners.
The trend has continued strongly this season for Frankie, who leads the 2021/22 championship with 17 wins, having extracted nine wins out of Conghua, with two victories in Class 2, six in Class 3 and one in Class 4.
Savvy Kingman’s success at Happy Valley on Wednesday night was Frankie’s most recent trainee to salute after spending time away from Hong Kong. At his current strike rate, Frankie is strongly placed to threaten Caspar’s record of 29 for the most wins in a season with horses who have been stabled in Conghua before racing in Hong Kong.
David Hayes, who is second overall in the standings with 15 wins, also underlined the value of the amenities on offer in Conghua with Red Majesty who also prevailed on Wednesday night.
On Saturday at Sha Tin, the Class 1 Panasonic Cup for horses rated 110-85 is the featured seventh race and will be run over 1400 metres in its traditional November slot on our racing calendar. This is always an interesting race dating back to its inaugural running in 1985.
Buddies, winner of the G3 Celebration Cup in September over the course and distance, will use his speed to set a moderate pace under Matthew Chadwick. Voyage Warrior will also go forward with Vincent Ho.
Fantastic Treasure and regular rider Chad Schofield are perfect in three starts over the course and distance and this race is his second-up run. He is well drawn and should get a much easier run than what he encountered in his seasonal debut. I make him a win and place chance.
Californiadeepshot comes off a solid effort three weeks ago and will be well placed in the run with the seven-pound claim of apprentice Alfred Chan. He is a place chance in his current form.
Lucky Express is another prime contender after winning both of his trials in addition to being a first-up winner at the start of last season. Zac Purton takes the ride and will get every chance from the inside barrier. He is a place chance along with Excellent Proposal, who is having his first start in eight months but his jockey Joao Moreira is positive that Excellent Proposal has further potential.
G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup
The G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup is the highlight of our Sunday simulcast day from Hanshin and will be run over 2200 metres for fillies and mares. Post time for the first of seven races is 11.55am.
Lei Papale holds an HKIR entry and I will be very interested to see if the Deep Impact filly can regain her winning ways. She is unbeaten over distances ranging between 1600 and 2000 metres and winless over 2200m. Her running style is to go forward and jockey Christophe Lemaire will have no issues from the inside barrier. Lemaire is substituting for regular rider Yuga Kawada, who must sit out after travelling to America last week to win a G1 with Loves Only You at the Breeders’ Cup. Lei Papale is a very classy filly and a legitimate place chance.
Akaitorino Musume is another talented Deep Impact filly and is improving with every start. She comes off a Group 1 win in the Shuka Sho against three-year-old fillies and must now prove it against older rivals. She will do her running from inside of midfield under Keita Tosaki and is suited by the distance. I make her a win and place chance.
Win Marilyn is in top form and will be on the pace with jockey Takeshi Yokoyama. She is a place chance along with Win Kiitos with regular rider Yuji Tannai.
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