Resilience and excellence in the face of adversity are among Hong Kong’s hallmarks and both these traits were evident during the successful staging of FWD Champions Day at Sha Tin on Sunday (28 April).
While the sporting achievements of ROMANTIC WARRIOR, BEAUTY ETERNAL and INVINCIBLE SAGE were outstanding, the efforts of our tracks team to present a safe surface which was fair and safe for all participants after more than 250mm of rain during the week was extraordinary.
The dedication and professionalism of the tracks team laid the foundation for an exceptional day of racing highlighted by the breathtaking performance of ROMANTIC WARRIOR in the G1 FWD QEII Cup (2000m) for a record-breaking third time.
With four Group 1 wins this season, including an arduous trip to Australia and an historic G1 W. S. Cox Plate (2040m) victory, ROMANTIC WARRIOR has repeatedly displayed his class and tenacity for Danny Shum and James McDonald and it is clear he is at the peak of his powers.
His effort to win on Sunday in yielding conditions was further evidence of his world-class qualities, defeating talented Japanese rivals PROGNOSIS and NORTH BRIDGE despite having to cover ground and not being entirely comfortable in the going.
The G1 FWD Champions Mile (1600m) and G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m) produced mild surprises with the wins of BEAUTY ETERNAL and INVINCIBLE SAGE, respectively, and their achievements reflect the depth of Hong Kong racing.
From a horse pool of 1,200 – or 0.08% of the world’s thoroughbred population – the progression of BEAUTY ETERNAL from unraced talent to Group 1 winner in the space of 17 starts is a credit to his trainer John Size. Having arrived in Hong Kong on a mark of 52, he has now risen to 121 in the handicap. Zac Purton’s ride in taking BEAUTY ETERNAL to the front from the outside barrier of 11 in the FWD Champions Mile was a tactical masterstroke.
BEAUTY ETERNAL has always been perceived as a horse with great potential and he showed his full potential only on Sunday and even before the race, there was a great doubt if he could handle the soft going.
INVINCIBLE SAGE had shown a liking for rain-affected ground in Australia and he duly relished the conditions under Hugh Bowman with an impressive win in the Chairman’s Sprint Prize against four individual Group 1 winners.
David Hall has been patient with INVINCIBLE SAGE and, as still only a four-year-old, he has emerged as another quality sprinter for Hong Kong. The win is a well deserved success for David, who has taken up the opportunity of forming a Trainer Syndicate, selecting INVINCIBLE SAGE and preparing him astutely to win this prestigious Group 1.
While INVINCIBLE SAGE’s win was not unexpected with the yielding ground, CALIFORNIA SPANGLE produced a gutsy performance to finish second after being involved in a speed battle early in the race and showed his class.
Although finishing fourth in the FWD Champions Mile, GOLDEN SIXTY remains the equine hero of Hong Kong racing and it was obvious once the field rounded the home turn, he was struggling in the ground and it is no coincidence that both of his appearances on yielding tracks have resulted in defeat.
Francis Lui, Vincent Ho and Stanley Chan have managed GOLDEN SIXTY’s record-breaking career superbly and in no way does Sunday’s defeat diminish the champion’s accomplishments or standing in Hong Kong and this was evidenced by the remarkable ovations he received from his legion of admirers before and after the race.
The cheers of the crowd when GOLDEN SIXTY was coming into the parade ring, which was packed despite the weather, was extraordinary and the adulation he received when coming back after his brave effort was something very unusual and showed the adoration our fans have for GOLDEN SIXTY when Vincent took the decision to parade him in front of his fans.
I have witnessed some great international Group 1 horses since coming to Hong Kong in 1998 and only SILENT WITNESS and GOLDEN SIXTY have captured the hearts of our fans in such an unforgettable way.
Despite the inclement weather at the weekend, the atmosphere was tremendous with attendance of more than 33,000, which included 5,100 Mainland visitors, who enjoyed a wonderful afternoon of international competition.
I would like to thank all of the Club’s workforce and local and international participants for making the day such a success for our raceday partner FWD. I would like to acknowledge our overseas visitors who supported our meeting with 11 world-class horses, especially some of them who came to compete on good ground, which we have most of the time.
I was honoured and humbled on Monday (29 April) to be awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, by the Government of Japan. I am extremely passionate about global horse racing and to be recognised by Japan for contributing to the international development of Japanese horse racing and the promotion of the Japanese breeding industry is especially gratifying.
I would like to dedicate this decoration to the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities, the Asian Racing Federation and the Hong Kong Jockey Club. All three have been at the forefront of global thoroughbred horse racing, helping to shape the future and lead the way for our industry.
It has been my privilege to work alongside industry peers in Japan for many years. I look forward to joining with my friends in Japan, and all my colleagues around the world, as together we take forward our sport and enter a new era of world-class racing.
Japan remains one of the most influential racing nations on the global stage and, as we saw on Sunday with eight Japanese runners at FWD Champions Day, their owners and trainers are great supporters of Hong Kong racing.
Hong Kong racing continues at Happy Valley on Wednesday night, when the Class 3 Deauville Handicap (1650m) is carded as Race 8 at 10.15pm with prizemoney of $2,050,000.
The pace in the race will be good with YELLOWFIN the likely leader drawn well in gate four for Lyle Hewitson. RED MAJESTY is drawn immediately outside YELLOWFIN and will have the gate speed to follow him across and sit outside the leader. IVY LEAGUE may go forward from gate ten and settle in the forward division and WINNING DRAGON will also settle close to the speed.
SIMPLY MAVERICK is a talented four-year-old who is a three-time winner over this course and distance this season. At his latest start on 10 April, SIMPLY MAVERICK was three-wide early before slotting in one off the fence in the back half of the field. Zac Purton made a wide run from the 600m and finished strongly in the straight to narrowly miss beating IVY LEAGUE on the line. That was a big run and SIMPLY MAVERICK is my win and place selection, with Zac taking the ride again.
IVY LEAGUE settled in a perfect position in that race, fourth one off the fence, before coming three-wide before the turn. IVY LEAGUE sprinted quickly in the straight and, despite wanting to lay in, just held on to beat SIMPLY MAVERICK by a nose. IVY LEAGUE has drawn awkwardly but if Keagan De Melo can get him into a good position in running IVY LEAGUE is a place chance.
WINNING DRAGON also contested the race won by IVY LEAGUE. He looked as though he would figure in the finish but ran out of room near the fence at the 50m mark and lost momentum, finishing tenth beaten 2.5 lengths. WINNING DRAGON was a winner over this course and distance three runs back and then a narrow second to RED HARE KING on 6 March. WINNING DRAGON is a place chance for Brenton Avdulla.
GLORIOUS JOURNEY was down in class and at big odds, at his fourth run in Hong Kong when he went back from a wide draw, settling last on the fence over this course and distance on 10 April. Matthew Chadwick started a three-wide run at the 600m and GLORIOUS JOURNEY was the widest on the turn, running home impressively in the straight to beat SURE JOYFUL. This is a tougher test but GLORIOUS JOURNEY is a place chance, with Matthew aboard again.
This is a competitive race with horses such as GALAXY WITNESS, YELLOWFIN and FALLON all chances on their best form.
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