I expect many of you will have watched the simulcasts from the Dubai World Cup meeting last night to check out the performances of the our Hong Kong runners there. They did not disappoint us as Sunny King and Green Birdie produced good efforts and finished a creditable third and fourth in the Dubai Golden Shaheen, while Beauty Flash finished a respectable 8th place in the Dubai Duty Free. Personally, I think the synthetic track here was a little bit sticky which does not benefit Hong Kong horses, while Beauty Flash does not stay the 1800m and it was similar to his performance in the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Derby Trial last year.
Although our Hong Kong runners couldn’t land a winner in Dubai this time, I was still quite pleased with the race results as in the Dubai Golden Shaheen, Singapore sprinter Rocket Man finally got the first international Group One success in his illustrious career. And in the Al Quoz Sprint earlier in the evening, J J The Jet Plane edged past War Artist to win this Group 2 event. J J The Jet Plane and Rocket Man finished first and second in the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint last December, and their great performances last night served as a great endorsement for the high quality of our flagship sprint event.
Anyway, Dubai will certainly have provided some valuable experiences for the connections involved and I hope we will have representation of a similar scale there next year.
After my arrival in Dubai, I learnt some encouraging news for Hong Kong racing. French trainer Freddie Head, who has prepared super-mare Goldikova to win the Breeders’ Cup Mile for the past three years on a row – already a record – has reportedly said that if she wins the race a fourth time in November, he will bring her to Hong Kong for a final run in December’s Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Mile.
It would certainly be great news if this wonderful horse, in my view the world’s best turf miler in recent years, gave her farewell performance on our home turf. For Hong Kong to be chosen as the place to bring down the curtain on such a wonderful career would be a great international recognition of our world-class racing standards. So let's see how things develop for this remarkable mare in the months to come.
Before then, we have 10 exciting races being staged at Sha Tin today, including three cup events. Although I cannot get back to Hong Kong for today’s meeting, I shall be following them closely through the Club's website. It’s rather special to have three trophy races on the same day, namely the Pok Oi Cup, the CUHK Alumni Cup and the Skol Cup. The Pok Oi Hospital at Yuen Long has been one of our close charity partners for many years, while we also have long and cordial ties with the Chinese University of Hong Kong, many of whose alumni are Owners and Club Members. Beer brand Skol has also been a keen sponsor of local racing for several years.
The staunch support of partners from such diverse sections of Hong Kong life once again underlines the community-wide recognition that our sport of racing has now gained.
In the SKOL Cup, it’s expected to be run at a fast pace, which will help horses running from the back. The expected leader Aashiq will ensure this pace but he should be stronger at 1400m. Rising Star Admiration goes back in distance from 1400m to 1200m which should not be a problem for him. He is likely to become a real star horse and should be the horse to beat. However, as a three-year-old, he’s giving weight to another upcoming horse Rich Unicorn, which will be no walk in the park and it will be a real test for him. Tailwind is another promising four-year-old and he should be in the finish. El Morro and Happy Reunion are the other two runners with outside chances.
The Castle Peak Bay Handicap will see a good pace and from Gate 1, Just Fantastic should be in the lead and is my first pick for the race, especially the drop in distance is in my view an advantage for him. His main opposition I see in Familists who is working well and has recent form but it came at 1600m. So did Taverner who is coming back in form and his best distance seemingly at 1400m, as well as Winning Edge with his good draw of 2. Business As Usual did disappoint so far and he over-raced in his last race. But I think the drop in distance from 1600 m to 1400m should help him. He’s also working well recently and could be the surprise horse in this race.
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