With only 18 days left until the staging of the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) at Sha Tin on 1 February, anticipation is rapidly building ahead of the first leg of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series.
The winning performances of INVINCIBLE IBIS and LITTLE PARADISE at Sha Tin last Sunday (11 January) were extremely impressive and the ensuing media coverage – particularly conjecture over which horse Zac Purton would partner in the Hong Kong Classic Mile – underlines the growing interest in the Four-Year-Old Classic Series.
With Zac eventually deciding to partner SAGACIOUS LIFE for Pierre Ng, Hugh Bowman will ride INVINCIBLE IBIS and Vincent Ho will combine with LITTLE PARADISE in what shapes as a fascinating Hong Kong Classic Mile.
Of the horses being aimed at the Four-Year-Old Classic Series, SAGACIOUS LIFE (97) is the highest-rated from LITTLE PARADISE (95) and INVINCIBLE IBIS (91), while there are several other quality contenders including NUMBERS (90), BEAUTY BOLT (85) and INFINITE RESOLVE (84) all making good impressions so far.
LITTLE PARADISE’s effort to defeat older horses at Class 2 level last weekend under Zac was certainly full of merit, clocking 23.03s for the final 400m under 122lb for Jimmy Ting, defeating INFINITE RESOLVE, while INVINCIBLE IBIS was no less impressive in clocking 23.07s, while carrying 135lb under Hugh Bowman for Mark Newnham and holding off Beauty Bolt (134lb).
A host of other contenders will attempt to claim a place in the 14-horse Hong Kong Classic Mile over the next week while also advancing claims for the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m) on 1 March and the HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) on 22 March.
At Happy Valley tonight (14 January), ANODE (Race 5), CRIMSON FLASH and REGAL GEM (Race 8) and SYMBOL OF STRENGTH (Race 9) will chase PP Bonuses of HK$1.5 million in their respective races, while attempting to improve their ratings.
This Sunday (18 January), another group from the 2025/26 Classic Generation is expected to press their claims with JUNEAU PRIDE, GLITTERING LEGEND, PATCH OF COSMO and POPE CODY all holding entries for important Class 3 contests at the meeting.
Hong Kong’s world-class horseracing returns to Happy Valley tonight when we celebrate our debut collaboration with APM Monaco, the chic Monaco-born fine jewelry brand inspired by the Principality of Monaco.
Adding further allure to the meeting will be the reappearance of international singer Rechelle Mansour in the Happy Valley Beer Garden, where attendees can enjoy wonderful music and dancing, food and beverage options and nine highly competitive races from 6.35pm.
The competitive highlight at Happy Valley is the G3 January Cup, which is carded as Race 7 at 9.40pm and is run over 1800m for prizemoney of HK$4.2 million.
The pace will be good to slow with CHANCHENG GLORY (Maxime Guyon) likely to lead from gate one. AWESOME FLUKE (Matthew Chadwick) should be prominent from gate two with KAHOLO ANGEL (Ellis Wong) striding forward from barrier 10. ENSUED (Andrea Atzeni) and HONG LOK GOLF (Harry Bentley) should be prominent.
HONG LOK GOLF has built an imposing record with seven wins from just ten starts. He returned to his winning ways at his third run this campaign when running home late to beat SOLEIL FIGHTER and STEPS AHEAD over 1600m at Sha Tin on 30 November. This represents a rise in class, but HONG LOK GOLF is a winner at his only run at the track and is a win and place chance for Harry Bentley.
HELENE FEELING (Hugh Bowman) returns to defend his race crown after winning this race last year, beating HAPPY TOGETHER, and finishing third in 2024. HELENE FEELING comes into the race on the back of successive wins at the track, beating AWESOME FLUKE over 1800m on 10 December and then featuring in a dead-heat with KAHOLO ANGEL over 1650m on 23 December. HELENE FEELING is racing well and is a place chance.
KAHOLO ANGEL ran brilliantly to share victory with HELENE FEELING last start and although he meets HELENE FEELING worse at the weights moving into Group company, he can run well again and is a place chance.
BEAUTY JOY (Brenton Avdulla) and CHANCHENG GLORY are proven performers at Group level and, despite giving weight to their rivals, are both capable of winning on their best form.
ENCOUNTERED (Karis Teetan) and MOMENTS IN TIME (Zac Purton), fourth and fifth in the race respectively last year, have excellent records at the course and distance and are also place chances.
SPEED DRAGON (Lyle Hewitson) and HUGE WAVE (Alexis Badel) are racing well and are light-weight chances while WINNING WING (Dylan Mo) will be running home strongly at the end of the race.
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