Regardless of pursuit, success in the international arena is the ultimate. In Hong Kong, the quest for racing excellence is constant and, with the release of the LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings (WBRR) and the presence of 10 Hong Kong races among the world’s top 100 G1 races, we can feel justifiably proud.
With a horse population of only 1,240 – 0.8% of the world’s racehorse population – the effort of Romantic Warrior and Golden Sixty to occupy joint eighth place in the WBRR standings with international marks of 124 behind Flightline (140), Baaeed (135) and Equinox and Nature Strip (both 126) is remarkable.
This recognition, along with California Spangle’s ranking of 123 and Wellington’s achievement to reach an international mark of 121, emphasises the quality of Hong Kong’s horse pool, which also features Waikuku (118), Russian Emperor (117), Ka Ying Star (116), Sky Field (116), Tourbillon Diamond (116), Beauty Joy (115), Lucky Patch (115), Lucky Sweynesse (115), Sight Success (115), Stronger (115) and Super Wealthy (115).
With no breeding industry of our own, the collective efforts of Hong Kong owners and trainers to source quality horses such as Golden Sixty and California Spangle remains critical to our aspiration to remain at the forefront of international racing, while Romantic Warrior’s stunning advance from unraced hopeful to global stardom has again underlined the importance of the Hong Kong International Sale.
The fact Hong Kong has three horses with international rankings of 123 and higher is tremendous and the imminent clash of our ‘Three Titans’ – Romantic Warrior, Golden Sixty and California Spangle – in the G1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m) at Sha Tin on 29 January has been given even more credence after the release of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities rankings.
Hong Kong’s pre-eminence in the top 10 again underscores the Club’s successful strategy of providing lucrative prize money and incentive bonuses in order to provide significant returns on investments for owners who are sourcing top-line racehorses for Hong Kong.
It was an honour to present the LONGINES WBRR award to Flightline’s connections at a special ceremony in London on Tuesday, when 10 of Hong Kong’s elite races were recognised among the world’s top 100 Group 1 contests.
Based on rankings determined by a panel of international handicappers, the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile won by California Spangle from Golden Sixty ranked as the fourth-best race over 1600m on turf for 2022 with a figure of 120.25, while the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m), won by Romantic Warrior, rated 118.
To put that in context, there are 393 G1 races globally eligible for international ranking and Hong Kong staged 12 of them, with all of them achieving a rating of 115 or above, which is again a reflection of the Club’s focus on quality.
With the Chinese New Year almost upon us, our focus turns to Happy Valley on Wednesday night when the Chater Handicap for Class 3 horses over 1000m is carded as Race 8 at 10:50pm with prizemoney of $1,725,000.
The pace should be strong from the outset with Super Axiom and Harmony N Blessed who are both drawn the outside keen to cross and lead. Pretty Queen Prawn will push forward from gate nine and Smokey Bear will race handy from his inside draw.
The fast pace will be important to the chances of California Deeply being able to post a winning hat-trick at the course and distance. He came from a seemingly forlorn position at the 200m mark to win in the last stride over Pretty Queen Prawn on 30 November when showing amazing acceleration in the closing stages. He backed that up with an impressive win last start when settling midfield on the rails and sprinting through on the fence to beat Special M and Gorgeous Vitality on 14 December. He has drawn the rail here and if Luke Ferraris can find clear air at the right time in the home straight, I make California Deeply a win and place chance again.
Gorgeous Vitality won twice over this course and distance last season and showed he had returned to racing in good form after surgery and an extended break at Conghua, when third to California Deeply on 14 December when making his seasonal reappearance. He has spent more time at Conghua after that run and with Zac Purton aboard and from a perfect gate, I make Gorgeous Vitality a place chance.
Pretty King Prawn has been racing with great consistency this season and has twice been a winner over the 1000m trip here in Class Four. At his last run he stepped up in class and beat all but California Deeply on 30 November. He will have benefitted from some time at Conghua since that run and is a place chance here for Antoine Hamelin.
Special M has not won a race since 12 January last year, but since then has run over the 1000m at Happy Valley 12 times, finishing top four in eleven of those races, including being runner-up on six occasions. A remarkable model of consistency. He has an awkward draw in gate ten but will give his all for Karis Teetan and is a place chance in an intriguing race to finish off an excellent card of racing.
At Sha Tin this Saturday (21 January), we will start our meeting earlier at 12.15pm to finish at 5pm, so that our customers and our staff can enjoy their dinner with their families ahead of the Chinese New Year.
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