Wellington’s performance to win the G2 Premier Bowl Handicap (1200m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (October 23) could not have been any more impressive – or better timed – ahead of the close of entries for Hong Kong horses in the four Group 1s at the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) in December.
Given the quality of the overseas entry, which includes 44 individual Group 1 winners among 127 elite foreign-trained gallopers, Hong Kong’s best horses will need to perform at peak levels to succeed in the HK$34 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m), HK$30 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (1600m), HK$24 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) and HK$22 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m).
Following on from California Spangle’s brilliant win in the G2 Oriental Watch Sha Tin Trophy Handicap (1600m), Wellington’s display at the weekend was a reminder of how good he is by carrying 135lb and running 1m 07.78s to get close to the 1200m record held by Sacred Kingdom, who carried 123lb when clocking 1m 07.50s in 2007.
With four wins from his past four starts, including two at Group 1 level, it is clear Wellington is being superbly managed by Richard Gibson and the horse is on target for hopefully another big performance on 11 December.
We are delighted with the Hong Kong entry for LONGINES HKIR which, once more, is headed by our champion Golden Sixty, who could bid to emulate Good Ba Ba’s feat of three successive LONGINES Hong Kong Mile triumphs in 2007, 2008 and 2009 with a third straight victory of his own or, should Francis Lui decide otherwise, Hong Kong’s equine idol could head to the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m) on 11 December.
Besides Wellington, there are 21 other Hong Kong sprinters nominated for the LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m), including last year’s winner Sky Field, Stronger, Lucky Sweynesse and Cordyceps Six as the locally-trained gallopers look to fend off the internationals.
The presence of Russian Emperor, Panfield and Romantic Warrior in the staying division ensures Hong Kong will be well represented in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m) and G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m) and now, with just over six weeks to go, we look forward to hopefully receiving confirmation of the participation of some of the world-class horses from abroad, including Glory Vase, Salios, Songline, Alenquer, Nature Strip, Kinross, Panthalassa, Shahryar, Mendocino and Stunning Rose.
In the meantime, the Hong Kong season is surging ahead and, reflecting on last Sunday’s meeting, the performances of Richard with Wellington and Alexis Badel – who finished the day with a treble – and Francis Lui’s doubles were highlights. The field sizes and overall quality of the horses engaged reflected positively in strong turnover of HK$1.642 billion, which again underlined the loyalty and support of our fantastic customers.
With the LONGINES HKIR just over six weeks away, we have switched our Wednesday meeting tonight from turf at Happy Valley to Sha Tin on the All Weather Track. This has been done to allow our team to sow wintergrass and to ensure that we have perfect conditions for the LONGINES HKIR.
The feature race at Sha Tin on Wednesday night is the Kwok Shui Handicap, which is carded as Race 4 for Class 2 horses over 1650 metres and it is a fascinating contest with Mighty Giant, Savaquin and Spirited Express racing on the AWT for the first time, with the remaining runners all proven on the surface.
Mighty Giant’s last win was in the G2 Chairman’s Trophy (1600m) in April 2021 and he comes back to Class 2 racing here. Trainer Ricky Yiu has given him some time at Conghua after his first up fourth behind California Spangle on 25 September. Mighty Giant has been working well on dirt in preparation for his first run on it under race conditions here and despite drawing widest is a place chance under Harry Bentley.
There is always good speed generated on the run to the first turn over the 1650m course. Natural front runners and stablemates All For St Paul’s and Kings Shield, will both push forward from inside gates and ensure a quick tempo through the early and middle stages.
Kings Shield won this race last year and returns after competing in the Korea Cup on 4 September. Champion jockey Zac Purton takes the ride and will be keen to jump well and find the lead and is a place chance.
All For St Paul’s comes into the race off successive 1600m wins on turf and he can be effective whether Matthew Chadwick elects to try and hold the lead or take a sit if headed by Kings Shield.
A fast tempo will set the race up for back markers like So We Joy and Berlin Tango to finish strongly.
Apache Pass has built an outstanding record over the 1650m AWT course finishing top two at his last five runs and reunites with Derek Leung tonight. He joined the new stable of Pierre Ng this season and his two starts on turf so far this term have been good and he is a winning chance racing just off the pace from a rails draw.
Vincent Ho brought So We Joy with a blistering finish to run down Apache Pass at his last AWT start back on June 25 and he will be improved with the benefit of his first run this season over 1600m on turf on 1 October and is a place chance.
Berlin Tango stormed home along the rails to beat Kings Shield at his last AWT run back on 4 May and comes into this race having won at Happy Valley two weeks ago, running over the top of Everyone’s Delight to win in the final stride. Master trainer Tony Cruz has elected to take advantage of a 10lb claim for apprentice Angus Chung here and Berlin Tango has a place chance in a race that has various form lines coming together to make an intriguing contest.
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