The pursuit of excellence is common to all aspects of Hong Kong life and horseracing in this incredible city is no exception.
The quest for success is relentless and it is fitting that in the same week Lucky Sweynesse was elevated to equal second alongside Hong Kong champion Golden Sixty in the LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings that his regular rider Zac Purton is poised to forge into territory reserved for only the most outstanding.
If Zac rides a winner at Sha Tin this Saturday, he will reach the 150-win milestone in a single Hong Kong season for only the second time – and it will be only the fifth time the feat has been accomplished in Hong Kong.
Zac previously surpassed 150 victories in a single campaign with 168 in 2018/19, while Joao Moreira achieved it on three occasions with 168 in 2015/16, a record 170 in 2016/17 and 157 in 2020/21. With 11 meetings left, Zac requires 22 more wins this season to break Joao’s record.
Lucky Sweynesse has provided six of Zac’s 149 victories this season and, after starting the season rated 98 in Hong Kong, he is now rated 125 internationally as the world’s highest-ranked sprinter. With the release of the latest LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, Manfred Man’s speedster has been given the same mark as champion miler Golden Sixty.
Only Japanese star Equinox (129) sits above the pair, while Romantic Warrior (equal fifth at 123) and California Spangle (equal eight at 122) are also in the elite international bracket with a presence which underlines the quality of Hong Kong racing.
It is remarkable to consider that Hong Kong – with a racehorse population of only 1,250 – is so strongly represented in top echelon of the sport which is a credit to our passionate owners, who invest significantly to source the best available horses to compete in Hong Kong.
At Sha Tin on Saturday, we celebrate the Hong Kong Riding for the Disabled Association Cup Race Day. The Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) was founded in 1975 by Lady MacLehose, wife of Sir Murray MacLehose, a former Governor of Hong Kong. RDA is the only charity offering therapeutic horse-riding lessons at no charge to the disabled community in Hong Kong.
The RDA touches the lives of more than 650 riders through over 4,500 rides each year. The Club is proud to support RDA, which relies on the generosity of the general public to sustain its operations.
The Pok Fu Lam Reservoir Handicap for Class 2 horses over 1800m is carded as Race 10 at 8.45pm at the second of our Sha Tin twilight meetings and carries prizemoney of HK$2.9 million.
The speed in the race will be good with Champion Dragon likely to work across and find the front from gate five, with All For St Paul’s also going forward to sit outside the leader. Tuchel races on pace and will be in the forward division with Bourbonaire and Looking Great close to the speed.
Tuchel has had an excellent season that has seen him finish top-four in all seven starts. He recorded his third win of the campaign when settling midfield and coming over the top of the daring front runner Flaming Rabbit to win over 1600m on 21 May. Tuchel was runner up in the BMW Hong Kong Derby and with Zac Purton aboard again he is my win selection from an ideal draw in gate four.
Bourbonaire is the second of John Size’s three runners here. He looked as though he would hold on for third behind Tuchel last start but was swamped late to finish fifth. Bourbonaire has been in Conghua since and if Antoine Hamelin can find a slot for him one off the fence from his wide draw, he is a place chance.
Butterfield bounced back from his unplaced run over 2400m behind Straight Arron in the Queen Mother Memorial Cup Handicap to finish runner-up to Meaningful Star over this trip at Happy Valley on 31 May, coming from the back of the field on the home turn. Butterfield has a good draw and while it is a long time since his last win he is racing in good form and is a place chance with Luke Ferraris aboard.
The Best Peach is racing well and followed a win over 1600m at Sha Tin on 30 April with a close second over the same course and distance to Universal Horizon on 13 May. He steps up a grade here but has a light weight and is a place chance for Karis Teetan.
Tuchel looks the winner but there are a number of other horses racing well who have place chances including Rise Brethren, Champion Dragon and John Size’s other runner Sweet Encounter.
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