The presence of Hong Kong’s four highest-rated horses at Sha Tin’s G2 double-header on Sunday (3 April) is clear evidence of the importance of the meeting ahead of FWD Champions Day on 24 April.
Golden Sixty (131), Waikuku (125) and Russian Emperor (123) square off in the G2 Chairman’s Trophy (1600m), while Wellington (123) clashes with Stronger (120) and Hot King Prawn (118) in the G2 Sprint Cup (1200m).
The performances of these six individual Group 1 winners will have a direct bearing on form assessments for the trio of G1 features in three weeks’ time – the G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m), G1 FWD Champions Mile (1600m) and the G1 FWD QEII Cup (2000m).
Much of the focus will centre on Golden Sixty’s ability to rebound after successive defeats, especially pitted against his two recent conquerors, Russian Emperor and Waikuku, while Wellington’s tussle with Stronger and Hot King Prawn – and several others – also shapes as a fascinating contest.
Unfortunately, we have not been able to resolve the resumption of Cross-border Horse Movement for this Sunday’s Race Meeting and we have some horses who could not participate today. In the circumstances, we would like to ask for the understanding of our owners, but we remain optimistic that through the tremendous effort of our team and the very risk-focused but cooperative attitude of Mainland Authorities, we are optimistic that this issue could be resolved shortly.
The Group 2 Sprint Cup over 1200 metres is the seventh race on the card and will be run at a good pace. Sight Success, a last start Class 1 winner, will go forward to make the running with Vagner Borges. Kurpany returns on a short back-up after running on Wednesday night and will keep the pace honest with Blake Shinn.
Super Wealthy, who will be ridden by Karis Teetan, didn’t get much room at his last run until the last 200m when he quickened very well when clocking 22.06s for the last 400m to finish second. I make him a place chance.
Master Eight was further back than usual in his last start but should be much closer here from his inside draw under Joao Moreira. He was an impressive winner in each of his first five starts and was brave in defeat in his last start. He is a place chance.
Wellington finished strongly over a rain-affected track to win the Group 1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup over 1400 metres in his last start. He is back in top form and I make him a win and place chance, coming from the back with a strong closing sectional under regular rider Alexis Badel.
Lucky Express showed big improvement in his last start when adding blinkers. He is also a place chance with Antoine Hamelin coming from the back.
The ninth race is the Group 2 Chairman’s Trophy over a mile. Healthy Happy should not have any problem to lead and is likely to set a good-to-slow pace under Matthew Poon with Ka Ying Star with Lyle Hewitson and Waikuku for Zac Purton sitting behind the leader, which will likely keep Tourbillon Diamond with Alexis Badel wide.
Golden Sixty and Vincent Ho will be in a similar situation as in the Stewards’ Cup as he is drawn in gate one. Unless he pushes forward to be in midfield, he will have to come from further back. In the former scenario, More Than This with Karis Teetan will be in front of him along with the in-form Russian Emperor for Blake Shinn, which would keep Excellent Proposal with Joao Moreira wide.
Golden Sixty, Waikuku and Russian Emperor are working very well and while Golden Sixty was beaten in his last two starts due to a non-optimal ride from Vincent and brilliant ride of Zac on Waikuku in the Stewards’ Cup and on an unsuitable ground and not optimal distance of 2000m in the Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup, he is the horse to beat and my win and place chance.
He is not fully fit after Francis Lui decided to give him time to recover from his last run with a reduced workload but he is still one of the best milers in the world. Waikuku is my second choice, while one should not underestimate Russian Emperor – who, in my view, is a better horse over a longer distance with his optimal distance being 2000m with his main target being the FWD QEII Cup on 24 April.
More Than This, with Karis Teetan, is a place chance over his best distance of 1600m.
Before we witness the two G2 contests at Sha Tin on Sunday, our Simulcast race is the Osaka Hai, a Group 1 over 2000m which will be run at the Hanshin Racecourse, one of the right-handed tracks in Japan.
The quality of the Japanese horse racing was shown in the most impressive way during the Dubai World Cup meeting last week when they simply dominated. Therefore, some of their top horses are not running in the Osaka Hai this weekend, but the brilliant
Four-year-old Efforia, who won the Japanese 2000 Guineas, the Tenno Sho and the Arima Kinen has stayed in Japan. He has an international rating of 124 and is the horse to beat. His main opponent is the upcoming four-year-old Jack D’Or who looks for his sixth straight win after a course record win in a Group 2 at Chukyo in his last start.
Hishi Iguazu, who finished second in the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup when beaten only by a short head by Loves Only You, is another place chance along with Lei Papale, who finished sixth in the same race at Sha Tin and was beaten by Jack D’Or in his last start.
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