Sustained excellence is a quality shared by Tony Cruz and John Size and, by a quirk of fate, two of Hong Kong’s most decorated racing figures are bearing down on another significant racing milestone almost locked in unison.
Tony (1,398 career wins) and John (1,397) trained a treble and double, respectively, on Wednesday night to edge ever closer to the 1,400-win milestone and, given their current form, it’s likely one or both could achieve the mark over the coming week.
Globally respected in their area of expertise, Tony and John trail only Frankie Lor (68 wins) with 53 and 67 wins, respectively, in this season’s trainers’ championship and they remain incredibly competitive as the two most senior figures in the Hong Kong training cohort.
To put Tony and John’s achievements – not to mention extraordinary success over a long period of time – into context, only John Moore (1,735) has saddled more winners in Hong Kong.
This season has been remarkable in many ways, not least the number of landmarks reached by our jockeys and trainers, including Zac Purton (1,400), Joao Moreira (1,200), Caspar Fownes (1,000), Danny Shum (700), Paul O’Sullivan (500) and Karis Teetan (500).
Luke Currie is in the midst of his first Hong Kong stint and, naturally, far removed from those metrics, but his effort to ride a double for John Size on Wednesday night (4 May) was deserved reward for his hard work following a track fall in February.
At Sha Tin on Saturday, the Carnation Handicap is the Class 2 feature of our race meeting with an extended rating band of 105-80 over 1400 metres. The pace will be good with Winner Method backing up after a sharp showing last Sunday along with last-start winner Silver Express and Hinchinlove.
Winner Method is up in grade and will get in with a light weight for jockey Matthew Poon as he chases the Club’s $1 million High Achievement Bonus. He will face pace pressure from Silver Express, who returned from a three-month lay-off with a pace-making win last month. He is once again drawn wide and jockey Vagner Borges will use his speed to cross over into a forward position. Hinchinlove will also go forward under Matthew Chadwick.
Californiadeepshot has been freshened at Conghua and returns after a good trial. Trainer Tony Cruz has won three races from the last two race meetings with runners from Conghua and Californiadeepshot goes well fresh. He will be ridden by 5-pound claimer Alfred Chan and is a place chance.
Good Luck Friend is also racing from Conghua and is primed for a big effort with Karis Teetan taking the ride. He just missed in his last start and will get a nice run under a light weight from a stalking position behind the leaders. I make him a place chance.
Ima Single Man will get every chance from his inside draw with Zac Purton and is a win and place chance. Silver Express is also a place chance.
Moving to Sunday, we travel to Japan for a simulcast day that features the Group 1 NHK Mile Cup for three-year-olds as the sixth of seven races, beginning at 11:55am. This is the time of year that the top-level Japanese races take place in Tokyo and it marks the return of the highly regarded Serifos, who is the likely favourite after suffering his only defeat to date when second in the Group 1 Asahi Hai Futurity for two-year-olds in his last start.
Serifos will be forwardly placed behind the leaders under new jockey Yuichi Fukunaga, who has 34 JRA Group 1 wins to his name. Serifos is a top-class performer over a mile and, like many runners in the field, this is his first appearance at Tokyo Racecourse. I make him a strong place chance.
Danon Scorpion is a Lord Kanaloa colt and he bounced back off a disappointing run in February to win the Group 3 Arlington Cup in his last start three weeks ago. He will do his running from the back under Yuga Kawada and is a win and place chance with a strong closing sectional. The Arlington Cup and the Group 2 New Zealand Trophy are key lead-up races to the NHK Mile.
Matenro Orion returned from an injury-related layoff with a solid run in the New Zealand Trophy and is set for a big try here under Norihiro Yokoyama. He will be in contention from the start and is a Group 3 winner. I make him a place chance along with the lightly raced Sonnet Phrase with Takeshi Yokoyama replacing regular rider Christophe Lemaire, who is riding in the Kentucky Derby. Sonnet Phrase will be on the pace from the outset and gets a five-pound filly allowance. She has the scope to develop into a top miler.
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