The imminent staging of a Group 1 race in Hong Kong is always an occasion for great excitement and, with the reappearance of ROMANTIC WARRIOR and VOYAGE BUBBLE in the HK$13 million G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (25 February), expectations are high.
With an international rating of 123, ROMANTIC WARRIOR is among the world’s premier racehorses and five Group 1 victories at 2000-2040m are testament to his phenomenal prowess at 10 furlongs. He has already won two Group 1s this season – a historic W.S. Cox Plate (2040m) and a second LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m) – and as a six-year-old, ROMANTIC WARRIOR is at the peak of his powers.
Success in any race is never guaranteed, particularly at the highest level, and the presence of last-start G1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m) winner VOYAGE BUBBLE means our two most recent BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) winners will clash for the first time in a race.
Rated 119 internationally, VOYAGE BUBBLE matched ROMANTIC WARRIOR’s feat of winning two legs of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series in his Classic season – the Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) and the BMW Hong Kong Derby – adding more intrigue to Sunday’s meeting.
The depth in Sunday’s race is captured by the presence of STRAIGHT ARRON (rated 118), BEAUTY JOY (115) and SWORD POINT (115), among several others and, as we forge into the second half of the season it will be interesting to gauge the progress of this quality group of horses.
The popularity and importance of our simulcast races continues to grow and, as horse racing becomes more international in terms of ownership, it was fantastic to see HAYASUGI – which is part-owned in Hong Kong by members of Josiah Ma’s family and also Alex Leung – win the G1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on Saturday (24 February).
With many of our Hong Kong owners internationally represented in different jurisdictions around the world, the interest in the Club’s World Pool and simulcast operation amongst Hong Kong owners and our customers is expanding and therefore we need to meet the demand for more simulcasts.
While Jamie Kah rode a brilliant race on HAYASUGI, Brenton Avdulla continued his recent strong Hong Kong form with a great ride on third place-getter KUROYANAGI in the Blue Diamond Stakes, which is one of Australia’s premier two-year-old races.
The 2024 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup is carded as Race 7 at 4.05pm with prizemoney of HK$13 million.
The pace in the race will be good to slow with MONEY CATCHER the front runner under Luke Ferraris. CHAMPION DRAGON will go forward and race outside the leader for Alexis Badel, with ENCOUNTERED and Karis Teetan and SWORD POINT and Lyle Hewitson also racing on pace.
ROMANTIC WARRIOR has drawn the outside gate and James McDonald will have to be at his very brilliant best to find a good position because he is at risk of being trapped three-wide.
ROMANTIC WARRIOR won both the FWD QEII Cup and LONGINES Hong Kong Cup for the second time in 2023 and is searching for his first win in this race being runner-up to GOLDEN SIXTY last year. His win in December was brave and more commanding than the margin suggested. He resumes in this race but Danny Shum’s superstar has been impressive in his trials and trackwork and is still my first choice for a win but one should not underestimate the risk of being kept wide for the majority of the race.
VOYAGE BUBBLE was the 2023 Hong Kong Derby winner and extends to 2000m for the first time since that race. He was excellent behind GOLDEN SIXTY in the LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (1600m) in December and then settled near the front and proved too good for BEAUTY ETERNAL and BEAUTY JOY in the G1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m) on 21 January. VOYAGE BUBBLE should not be underestimated under Zac Purton and he will be a worthy challenger to ROMANTIC WARRIOR.
STRAIGHT ARRON was very good behind ROMANTIC WARRIOR in December and he bounced back after his indifferent run in the Stewards’ Cup with a good third in the Centenary Vase over 1800m, carrying topweight and making good ground from the back when third to NIMBLE NIMBUS. Hugh Bowman takes the ride and STRAIGHT ARRON is a place chance.
NIMBLE NIMBUS was competitive in the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup in December and then scored a well-deserved Group win in the Centenary Vase on 4 February over 1800m. NIMBLE NIMBUS switches from a light weight winner under handicap conditions to a set weight contest here, but Andrea Atzeni has a lot of confidence in the horse and NIMBLE NIMBUS is a place chance.
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