And so, after overcoming significant challenges created by extreme weather, Hong Kong’s horseracing season opens at Sha Tin today with the return of champion sprinter Lucky Sweynesse as the highlight to an always auspicious occasion.
John Size begins the quest for a 13th trainers’ championship and Zac Purton sets off in search of a seventh jockeys’ title, while Andrea Atzeni and Keagan De Melo join a world-class jockey roster as Sha Tin hosts the first meeting of the 2023/24 season.
Despite the disruptions caused by Super Typhoon Saola and the Black Rainstorm event, I am looking forward to the opening of the season.
While we will miss the HKSAR Chief Executive The Honourable John KC Lee to officiate at the season opening due to his commitments to focus on the crisis management of the unprecedented rainstorm and related flooding damage which has impacted our community, we will today host at Sha Tin about 130 delegates from the Philanthropy for Better Cities Forum, which will be held on Monday and Tuesday in West Kowloon and will feature about 70 prominent speakers and 1,600 delegates from around the world.
The importance of this forum, which is supported by notable global foundations including Nippon Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Wellcome Trust, Temasek Foundation and the Tencent Charity Foundation, cannot be understated a time when disparities are widening worldwide.
Themes for discussion include the education divide, health justice, ageing societies, East and West welfare models and the role of technology in philanthropy. The Hong Kong Jockey Club, which acts continuously for the betterment of society, is proud to support the forum, which I am sure will provide tremendous insight and value for all involved.
The forum comes as we brace for significant economic headwinds globally and also in Hong Kong. While we successfully managed COVID challenges due to the commitment of our management team and employees, the economic conditions ahead will likely have a significant impact on our turnover.
We are committed to overcoming these challenges and working even harder to sustain the world-class standard of Hong Kong racing and investing more to enhance the customer experience we offer.
Today at Sha Tin, the Class 1 HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup Handicap (1200m) is carded as race 4 at 1.55pm. Lucky Sweynesse won this race last year, announcing himself as an emerging star. Manfred Man’s superstar went on to win eight races for the season and is the world’s highest-rated sprinter with an international rating of 125.
Lucky Sweynesse has the outside gate (barrier six), but Zac should have him in a stalking position one off the fence coming to the turn and, despite carrying 135lb and giving 20lb in weight to all his rivals, he is my win selection.
The pace should be set by Victor The Winner, who has brilliant gate speed and Karis Teetan should cross from gate five to find the fence and the lead. Victor The Winner won five races last season for Danny Shum and fought on bravely when runner-up to Lucky Sweynesse in the Sha Tin Vase on 4 June. Victor The Winner was pressured in the lead in that race and with an easier run in front this time may present Lucky Sweynesse with a genuine contest in the straight.
Frankie Lor has three runners in the race. Adios won the Swaine Cup over this course and distance on 9 July, beating stablemate Rewarding Together and they should be prominent in the fight for the minor placings. Frankie’s other runner Youthful Deal was a four-time winner last season on the All Weather Track over 1200m and will be ridden by Andrea Atzeni.
Our simulcast attention also turns to Korea today and the performances of Duke Wai and Apache Pass at Seoul Racecourse, a left-hand turning course and with a deep sand surface, which favours front-running horses due to the significant kick-back and this makes it difficult to predict how Duke Wai and Apache Pass will adapt.
Duke Wai contests the G3 Korea Sprint (1200m), which is carded as S2-1 and run at 2.25pm. Duke Wai ran well when fifth in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint on turf in Dubai in March and at his latest run in Hong Kong was fourth behind Adios over 1200m on 9 July.
Duke Wai has performed well in his only two runs on the dirt at Sha Tin with a win and a placing. Pierre Ng has engaged Damian Lane who has a good record in international races to ride and Duke Wai is a place chance if he adapts well to the surface.
Japan’s Bathrat Leon won the 2022 Godolphin Mile on dirt and this year took the feature sprint in Saudi Arabia in February on turf. Champion trainer Yoshito Yahagi ran him over 1400m on dirt in Japan on 31 May in preparation for this race where he was third to Igniter and he looks the leading winning chance from his rails draw.
The other Japanese runner is Remake, to be ridden by Yuga Kawada, and he comes to the race off an impressive win over the 1200m on 15 August. The best of the Korean chances is last year’s winner Eoma Eoma and Ssonsal, who won the main lead up race.
The Korea Cup (1800m) is carded as S2-2 and run at 3.30pm.
Japan’s leading runner is Crown Pride who won the UAE Derby in Dubai before finishing unplaced in the Kentucky Derby. Crown Pride resumed this year with an excellent fifth in the Saudi Cup behind Panthalassa and then ran fifth in the Dubai World Cup.
Crown Pride was a close second to Meisho Hario at this only run since on the dirt at Ohi in Japan and is a win and place chance.
Japan’s other representative Gloria Mundi was a nine-length winner at Funabashi over 2400m two starts ago and again looked impressive scoring over 1900m at Kyoto on the dirt on 20 May. Yuga Kawada rides Gloria Mundi and he is the hardest for Crown Pride to beat.
Tuhonui Banseok won the major lead up race at Busan on 2 July when he defeated last year’s Korea Cup hero Winner’s Man and both horses are place chances for the home team, while the wild card in the race is the local three-year-old Global Hit, who won the Korea Derby in dominant fashion.
Apache Pass has a good record on dirt at Sha Tin, having won four times. He has drawn wide on the inside of Crown Pride and Gloria Mundi and if Damian Lane can follow those two runners into the race, Apache Pass is a top five chance.
I wish Pierre and his owners good luck with both horses in their respective races.
At Leopardstown on Saturday night, Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore continued remarkable seasons with Auguste Rodin’s victory in the G1 Irish Champion Stakes. The Epsom and Irish Derby winner gave Aidan his 12th win in the race and Ryan his fifth as part of another thrilling World Pool contest.
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