Sunday’s Audemars Piguet QE II Cup capped a fantastic week of racing for Hong Kong. Not only were our two spring international events both won by home representatives, but we also witnessed a couple of new records being etched into local racing history.
I'm sure those of you who were at Sha Tin Racecourse on Sunday would agree with me that the acceleration showed by race winner Ambitious Dragon was truly astonishing. I must congratulate his Owner Johnson Lam, as this horse is really shaping up to be one of the most exciting we've seen in Hong Kong for a long time. I also felt very happy for jockey Douglas Whyte as surprisingly, perhaps, this was his first win at International Group 1 level on Hong Kong turf, although he previously won the APQEII Cup twice in the late 1990s before the race gained G1 status.
Ambitious Dragon is really having a dream season, as this was his third Group 1 victory in succession and it takes his total wins this season to seven, which equals the Hong Kong record. It was also the first time that a horse has achieved the Derby and APQEII double since 2005, when Vengeance Of Rain managed this challenging feat. For a PPG who started the season at a rating of 57, it’s simply incredible to see what he’s achieved.
More notably still, this was the first time in history that both the BMW Champions Mile and APQEII Cup have been won by local four-year-olds, as Xtension – runner-up to Ambitious Dragon in the Derby – won the previous Monday’s big race. And second in the Champions Mile was another four-year-old, Lucky Nine.
We always keep looking out for new Hong Kong stars that can maintain our high racing standard. These young horses will all come up to replace the big stars who have dominated our racing over the past few years. The sky’s the limit and I hope they will continue showing steady improvement in the future.
For Xtension, reports from racing media suggested that his trip to England for the Queen Anne Stakes next month has all but confirmed. But I hope the connections can rethink the subsequent plans of running him in the Cox Plate in Australia, as in my view the horse has acclimatised nicely in Hong Kong and performed admirably in the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Derby and BMW Champions Mile. Now he will be taking an excursion to the UK, which means he won’t have a very long summer break. With the strict quarantine requirements in Australia compounding the difficulties, it would make the Cox Plate a very difficult task for this young colt. It will also pose a major risk to his chance of winning the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Mile, which I think should be the race for him to be focused on by following his success in the Champions Mile. In fact, we will soon make an announcement about the CXHK Mile, which will offer extra cash incentives to Owners and trainers. Hopefully Xtension’s trainer and owner will be encouraged to reconsider the options available and to aim Xtension at December’s international race.
As Monday was a public holiday, it gave me spare time to catch on some of the weekend's international racing. Topping the list must be Frankel’s wire-to-wire victory in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, the traditional first classic of the English flat racing season. What made this historic race so special this year was that you don't often have the chance to see a front-runner carving out such a huge leading margin in a straight course event, this three-year-old was leading the field by 12 lengths at one stage. Yet he still looked very relaxed and had the energy left to produce a strong kick in the final quarter, eventually winning by six lengths.
With this win, Frankel remains unbeaten and is now six for six. It appears his connections will now opt for the St James’s Palace Stakes in the Royal Ascot meeting in mid-June, rather than challenging for a 2000 Guineas and Derby double – a feat last achieved two years ago by Sea The Stars. I will be interested to see how he performs in his next start.
Another piece of news that caught my attention was the European debut of former Australian galloper So You Think. This prolific horse has now joined maestro Aidan O’Brien’s stable and will be targeted at some of the major European events this season. He made a great start in Ireland when he won the Group 3 Mooresbridge Stakes by a staggering margin of 10 lengths at The Curragh on Monday. For sure many Australian horsemen will be closely following this horse's progress in Europe, as he bears great hopes and expectations of the racing fraternity Down Under. So we're hoping we can give you all a chance to see how these two horses perform in our Epsom Derby and Royal Ascot meeting simulcasts next month.
Currently, we are allowed to arrange 15 overseas simulcast days, and 10 other simulcast races falling on local race days every season. The situation is certainly better than that before the relaxation. However, with local racing fans showing further interests to international racing over the past few years, we would be pleased to see the authorities granting us more flexibility on this aspect. So that we would be able to bring more top overseas races for racing fans here to watch, providing them more chances to offer their support to their favourite overseas horses in races.
Back to our home racing, tonight at Happy Valley we have eight races on the card, and also a great Six Win Bonus of HK$10.1 million for the Six Up pools. With the estimated payout reaching HK$16 million for a HK$10 bet, I know a lot of racing aficionados would like to win the big prize, but quite a number of races look to be rather competitive, and it appears not to be an easy task for one to find the right horses.
In the Somerset Handicap, the first leg of the Six Up, there expects a good to slow pace with Jolly Wongchoy leading, which will give him and other horses in the front such as Brilliant Chariot, Compact Yarn, as well as Shiny Day and My Way a slight advantage. I like Compact Yarn and My Way more as both of them are in nice form, but I would not overlook Jolly Wongchoy as he also has a nice draw with Douglas Whyte on board.
In the Norfolk Handicap, it is expected to be run at a good to fast pace. I see in-form runner Many Gains as a main chance, as he has a good draw, and will be well-positioned in the race. Statistics over the past few seasons also suggested the yard of trainer Caspar Fownes is always in good form in May. Meanwhile, Andy Leung-trained Make It will be benefitted from the pace and will come from the back of the field. I think he will be Many Gains’ main opponent in this race.
Later tonight, I expect some of you will stay up late to watch the clash between Manchester United and Schalke 04 for a UEFA Champions League final place. United look the clear favourites as they enjoy a two-goal advantage from the away leg, but Schalke are unlikely to give up their dreams of the final without putting up a fight. Whatever the result, it promises to be a classic final, with the winners taking on Barcelona at Wembley Stadium later this month.
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