After months of planning, expectation and building excitement, FWD Champions Day is finally upon us.
International racing is about quality and with 10 individual Group 1 winners among the 24 selected runners from five separate racing jurisdictions – Australia, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Japan and New Zealand – we have a truly global sporting event to savour.
With HK$65 million in prize money on offer, FWD Champions Day is a celebration of the finest horses, jockeys and trainers at one of the best racecourses in the world and, after last season’s meeting was restricted to local entrants only because of COVID-19, we look forward to enjoying a truly international event.
I would like to wish all owners, trainers and jockeys the very best on Sunday and thank all of them for their support and enthusiasm, while I would also like to express my appreciation to our valued major sponsor FWD.
The first of Sunday’s features is the HK$20 million G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m), which is carded as race 5 at 2.50pm. Lucky Sweynesse is currently rated 123 internationally and is the highest-rated sprinter in the world. He will win a HK$5 million bonus if he sweeps the Hong Kong Speed Series with success on Sunday. His great rival Wellington pursues his third consecutive win in this race, having won it in 2021 and 2022.
The race should be run at a good tempo with a number of horses likely to go forward, including probable leader Master Eight from gate seven, with the Japanese runner Aguri drawn widest also pushing forward. Sight Success will be on the pace from his inside gate with Wellington also in the leading division.
Lucky Sweynesse has been a revelation this season and has won all four starts in 2023. He was brilliant beating California Spangle in the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m) and then switched back to the 1200m when overcoming a brave challenge from Wellington to win the Sprint Cup three weeks ago. Trainer Manfred Man has kept Lucky Sweynesse up to the mark since and Zac Purton should have him in a striking position off the fence from gate six. He is my winning selection.
Wellington comes off his fighting performance behind Lucky Sweynesse in the Sprint Cup on 9 April, when both horses carried a 5lb penalty. Wellington stalked the leader Master Eight in that race and fought on gamely before eventually surrendering to the winner in the last 100m to go down by a length. He is a world-class sprinter, who won the LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) in December and, ideally drawn in gate two, is the hardest for Lucky Sweynesse to beat.
Aguri has looked in good form since arriving in Hong Kong and won four races on the bounce before a seventh in the G1 Takamatsunomiya Sprint at Chukyo on 26 March. That was Aguri’s first run on a rain-affected track and he loomed up to win but faded in the closing stages. The Takayuki Yasuda-trained sprinter is an emerging talent and is a place chance for Cristian Demuro.
Sight Success was favourite when fourth in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai in March. He seems to have handled the Dubai trip well and looks to be in good shape after trialling well this week but one can only see this in the race itself and he is a place chance in my assessment for James McDonald and John Size from gate one.
The rest of the field contains a number of high-quality sprinters, including British four-year-old Flaming Rib – who is part-owned by England football great Michael Owen – and who was second in the G1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot last year and resumed in 2023 with an impressive win at Doha in the Dukhan Sprint for trainer Hugo Palmer.
The HK$20 million G1 FWD Champions Mile (1600m) is carded as race 7 at 4pm and Golden Sixty at 125 is currently the second-highest rated horse on the planet and is chasing an unprecedented third consecutive win in this race with Vincent Ho and Francis Lui.
The pace is expected to be fast from the outset with trainer Tony Cruz declaring California Spangle will lead the race despite drawing the outside gate. Natural front-runner Healthy Happy has drawn the rails and it will be interesting to see how keen Silvestre de Sousa will be to try and hold the lead or make California Spangle work to find the front.
The race sets up perfectly for Golden Sixty who is versatile in his race tactics but will most likely follow California Spangle forward towards the lead. Vincent has formed an incredible partnership with Golden Sixty and will have him in a striking position and he is my win selection.
California Spangle fought hard to the line to win the G2 Chairman’s Trophy three weeks ago when giving weight to all his rivals, beating Money Catcher and Beauty Joy when Zac Purton elected not to lead. The 2022 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile winner is the hardest for Golden Sixty to beat.
My Oberon comes into the race off an excellent second to Mr Brightside in the Doncaster Mile at Randwick on 1 April and has looked in good form since arriving in Hong Kong for the race. The outside gate complicates matters a little for Joao Moreira but, off a fast pace, My Oberon is a place chance for outstanding trainer Annabel Neasham, who produced Laws Of Indices to run a close third in the Hong Kong Mile in December. New Zealand representative Aegon has quietly gone about his work in preparation for this race and will run well for Andrew Forsman and James McDonald.
This is a big test for BMW Hong Kong Derby winner Voyage Bubble but the four-year-old was excellent in winning last start after making a mid-race move and holding off Tuchel and Beauty Eternal. Voyage Bubble won the Hong Kong Classic Mile in February and is a place chance for Alexis Badel.
The G1 FWD QEII Cup (2000m) is carded as race 8 at 4.40pm and brings together form lines from Europe and Australia through Dubai Honour and a strong Japanese challenge to take on our home team led by defending champion Romantic Warrior.
The pace in the race will be moderate and will be set by Money Catcher who will find the lead from gate five. Romantic Warrior will be handy to the speed and Dubai Honour may hold a forward position behind the leader from his rails draw.
Romantic Warrior has an international rating of 124, achieved in easily beating Danon The Kid in the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup in December. He has been beaten at his two runs this year, the latest lowering his colours to Golden Sixty in an epic battle in the Hong Kong Gold Cup when he had to work to get past Money Catcher before being run down by Golden Sixty. James McDonald is reunited with Romantic Warrior here and he is my winning selection.
Dubai Honour was dominant in two starts in Australia over this distance and sprinted away from Mo’unga and Anamoe in the G1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick on 9 April. That performance gave Dubai Honour a career-high international rating of 122. He has looked in great form since arriving in Hong Kong and is the hardest for Romantic Warrior to beat with Tom Marquand aboard.
Japan has a strong hand in the race with Danon The Kid coming into the race off an impressive third to Jack D’or in the G1 Osaka Hai on 2 April. Vincent Ho won this race for Japan in 2021 on star mare Loves Only You and Vincent takes the ride on Danon The Kid and he is a place chance.
Geraldina is regally-bred being by champion racehorse Maurice from seven-time G1 winner Gentildonna. She defeated Win Marilyn to win the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup in October and ended 2022 with an outstanding third to super horse Equinox in the Arima Kinen (2500m).
Geraldina didn’t have much luck when resuming in the Osaka Hai, running out of room on the rails in finishing sixth to Jack d’Or. She has improved each day since arriving and produced an outstanding final piece of work on Wednesday and she is a place chance. Prognosis is the third of the Japanese challengers and will be ridden by Zac Purton. Prognosis is lightly-raced and comes off a win at G2 level in the Kinko Sho on 12 March and will give a good account of himself against world class opposition.
The last race, which is a Class 2 over 1400m, is a very exciting and competitive race with BMW Hong Kong Derby runner-up Tuchel, third-placed Beauty Eternal and fourth-placed Keefy taking on the improving Red Lion and Flaming Rabbit.
I am still of the view that Beauty Eternal over 1400m and 1600m can become one of our top horses and let’s see how he performs on Sunday.
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