Great international horse races have a habit of producing the most compelling storylines – and champions – and on Sunday in Paris the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, ACE IMPACT delivered a performance for the ages.
Still only a three-year-old and contesting just his sixth start in a career which began only in January, the colt maintained his unbeaten record with a superb display of acceleration for trainer Jean-Claude Rouget and jockey Cristian Demuro in Europe’s most coveted race.
Despite being very wound up in the pre-race preliminaries, he was able to overcome this with a dazzling performance. It will be interesting to see what race will be his next target or if he retires to stud.
ACE IMPACT’s fantastic victory was a triumph for Rouget’s genius and Demuro’s outstanding race management and once again demonstrated how the meteoric emergence of brilliant young horses can capture public and media attention.
Where ACE IMPACT heads next is a matter of conjecture but there is no doubt his bloodlines – as a son of CRACKSMAN and ANABAA BLUE mare ABSOLUTLY ME – make him extremely valuable from a breeding perspective.
On the subject of pedigree, the first three across the line at ParisLongchamp represented a collective triumph for the great FRANKEL, who is not only the sire of CRACKSMAN, but also the sire of Sunday’s runner-up WESTOVER and third place-getter ONESTO.
Kinross, who is owned in Hong Kong by Marc Chan, produced a very good run when second in the G1 Prix de la Foret (1400m) with Frankie Dettori in the saddle in Paris on Sunday. The winner caused some interference and Frankie lodged an appeal, which was over-ruled. However, that run should set up KINROSS well to come to Hong Kong for LONGINES Hong Kong International Races.
Paris also hosted the 57th International Conference of Horseracing Authorities, organised by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), at Saint-Cloud Racecourse on Monday (2 October).
The focus of this year’s Conference was on safeguarding equine welfare and exploring shifts in societal expectations as well as the sport’s response around the world and we continued what has been a chief mission throughout the life of the Federation – equine welfare.
The Conference provided an opportunity to focus and build upon the significant body of work which has been carried out domestically and internationally over many years by our members to protect our equine athletes.
I am energised by the many innovative ideas, initiatives and collaborations that we have heard about over the course of the Conference. From birth, to training and racing, and onto retirement and aftercare, there is potential to both further enhance equine welfare at all stages of the thoroughbred’s life and the general awareness of our standards.
Vincent Ho’s effort to recuperate as quickly from serious injuries suffered in the off-season has been remarkable and I was delighted that Vincent was able to crown his recovery last Sunday at Sha Tin with a treble.
Vincent’s dedication and professionalism is a shining example to all aspiring young talents and his determination is again being rewarded. Vincent has achieved his greatest racing moments so far in tandem with Francis Lui and Golden Sixty and it is no coincidence that Francis is also having a wonderful season.
Runner-up in the trainers’ championship last season behind John Size, Francis has started 2023/24 just as he finished 2022/23 and already has 11 wins this campaign with the prospect of many more to come.
At Happy Valley on Wednesday night, the Wong Chuk Hang Handicap is carded as Race 8 at 10.50pm for Class 3 horses and is run over 1650m for prizemoney of HK$2,050,000.
The pace in this race will be good with CHRYSOS drawn out in gate nine going forward under Matthew Chadwick to find the lead. RED MAJESTY also races on speed and should be outside the leader from his draw.
Harry Bentley has been in outstanding over the last week and his mount SILVER SONIC ended last season with an impressive win over 1400m at Sha Tin on 9, July beating ROMANTIC CHARM. This is his first run at Happy Valley, but SILVER SONIC trialled well recently and is a win and place chance for Francis Lui, who has had a wonderful start to the season.
D STAR finished last season with a win at this course and distance when looping the field and hitting the front on the turn and winning impressively. He made a winning return here on 13 September when running over the top of DRAGON STAR in the closing stages. D STAR has a wide draw but will get back in the field in any case, will be running home strongly and is a place chance for Angus Chung.
ROMANTIC LAOS is having his first start for Cody Mo. He won two races last season including over this course and distance in May when running over the top of the leader FEARLESS FIRE. The outside gate makes the challenge more difficult for ROMANTIC LAOS but Zac Purton takes the ride and he is a place chance.
This is a competitive race to finish the card with other runners like ZONE D, RED MAJESTY, MALDIVES and HK DRAGON also having place claims.
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