FWD Champions Day lived up to its blockbuster billing last Sunday with an unforgettable afternoon of world-class racing that showcased the very best of Hong Kong.
With the performances of Golden Sixty, Romantic Warrior and Wellington, it was indeed a day of champions and the slew of milestones stand as testimony to the quality of our racing product.
One of the most pleasing aspects was how our four-year-old crop performed in their tests against the older brigade.
Romantic Warrior’s G1 FWD QEII Cup (2000m) triumph was absolutely stunning and California Spangle showed enormous future potential with his second in the G1 FWD Champions Mile (1600m), beaten only by the great Golden Sixty in a truly-run race, which tested the champion.
Golden Sixty notched his 21st win from 24 starts to boost his prize money to a Hong Kong record of HK$113,400,600, surpassing Beauty Generation’s haul of HK$106,233,750, with another great win for Francis Lui and Vincent Ho.
With six Group 1 wins now – all over 1600m – Golden Sixty has run quicker final 400m sectionals than the 22.55s he produced at the weekend but his overall time of 1m 32.81s is the fastest time he has ever posted over a mile.
Wellington sheeted home his superiority as Hong Kong’s best contemporary sprinter with his second G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m) for Richard Gibson and Alexis Badel to join a select band of horses to win the race in successive years, displaying his mercurial best with a final 400m burst of 22.09s.
Then can be few more compelling success stories than that of Romantic Warrior.
Selected in 2019 on behalf of the Club from the 2019 Tattersalls Sale by Michael Kinane and bought for $4.8 million by Mr Peter Lau on Danny Shum’s recommendation at the 2021 Hong Kong International Sale, Romantic Warrior is now a bona fide star with seven wins from eight starts and prize money of HK$39,965,400.
The first HKIS graduate to annexe the BMW Hong Kong Derby-FWD QEII Cup double, Romantic Warrior opened his winning account on debut in a Class 4 over 1200m at Happy Valley on 20 October, 2021.
Just over six months later, having won the Hong Kong Classic Mile and BMW Hong Kong Derby to dominate the Classic Four-Year-Old Series despite a luckless fourth in the Hong Kong Classic Cup, he trounced the best middle-distance horses here at his first Group 1 attempt.
On the face of it, Russian Emperor’s performance to run fifth was disappointing but an interrupted preparation as well as his preference for softer going might have been the reasons behind his run.
What made the day even more memorable was the vibrancy and energy generated by the 1090 owners and guests on course. Such was the excitement and enthusiasm to be back at the races for the first time since 12 January that at times it felt like there were 10,000 spectators at Sha Tin.
The Club is thankful to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government for granting us permission to host owners and guests. Their presence really created a wonderful atmosphere and we hope to soon welcome back Club members and members of the public in safe and controlled conditions.
We are also grateful for FWD’s generous support of the Club and I was especially pleased with outstanding racing across the three Group 1 features.
We continue our season at Happy Valley on Wednesday night where the finale will be a true test of speed with a good to fast pace expected in the Class 2 Cheong Ming Handicap over 1000 metres. There are a number of horses that will flash their speed from the start which will put pressure on Nervous Witness and jockey Blake Shinn. Nervous Witness has won his past two starts, including a convincing win over the course and distance, and is well drawn on the C+3 course. He is a horse which needs to lead to have his best chance and the intense pace pressure is a genuine concern. I make him a place chance.
The pace pressure will come from the outside gates in the form of McLucky, a winner of his past two races, Voyage Warrior and We The South. McLucky drops back in trip after an extended layoff and picks up in-form jockey Karis Teetan, while Voyage Warrior with Alfred Chan and We The South with Derek Leung are two of seven runners in the race that have recently returned from Conghua. Classic Unicorn will also be prominent under jockey Alex Lai.
The pace will be genuine and the field will be tightly bunched. Stoltz has performed well over the course and distance and comes off a sharp effort at Sha Tin when he came within a neck of upsetting Nervous Witness earlier this month. He is four pounds better off at the weights and has drawn a good barrier. I expect he will be a bit further back in the run due to the tempo of the race but make him a win and place chance under regular rider Zac Purton.
Atomic Force jumps from gate nine and will be worse than midfield in his second-up run with Matthew Chadwick taking the ride. He was a very highly regarded European two-year-old last season, posting back-to-back wins in Group 3 and Group 2 races over 1200 metres. It will be interesting to see how he performs in this highly competitive Class 2. I make him a place chance, along with Hong Kong Win, ridden by Joao Moreira.
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