Some may feel it’s been a long season, but for a horse lover and racing enthusiast like me, it always seems as though the season’s way too short. No matter how you think though, after ten months and 82 race meetings, the current season will come to a finale tomorrow at Sha Tin.
When Lucky Nine won the HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup at our opening Sha Tin meeting in September – the first three-year-old to do so in the race’s history – it was perhaps a prophetic sign that this season was going to be one in which we would witness the emergence of an outstanding new generation.
For the second consecutive season we have seen a racehorse who has been able to rack up seven victories in a single campaign as Ambitious Dragon equalled the feat achieved by Entrapment last term. But what makes this Tony Millard-trained four-year-old even more remarkable was that in the process he won three Group 1 titles, with his season culminating in a defeat of very high class older local and international opposition in the Audemars Piguet QEII Cup in May.
Xtension also joined the ranks of winners at international G1 level with his success in the BMW Champions Mile. I believe this John Moore’s runner, along with Lucky Nine, who captured the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Classic Mile in January, and other multiple winners such as Flying Blue and Sichuan Success, will definitely form a very influential force in the coming season.
In the jockeys’ ranks the very young Frenchman Maxime Guyon stormed to prominence in particular through his partnership with Ambitious Dragon in the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Classic Cup and Hong Kong Derby. I also think the young Australian jockey Tye Angland had a very successful and promising first season in Hong Kong. Although he may not yet have quite as high profile as Guyon’s, that can largely be explained by the fact that he was forced onto the sidelines for almost three months following his fall in a race in February. In those circumstances it was an impressive achievement to have ridden 17 winners in what was for him a relatively short season.
We also saw a few locally-groomed apprentice jockeys who showed great potential. While Vincent Ho has already grabbed 38 winners to date and is set to be crowned Champion Apprentice, Alvin Ng, another young rider who just started riding in Hong Kong last month, has bagged seven winners at the past five Sha Tin meetings. I’m really pleased to see all these new forces in our racing and their arrival give us lots to look forward to as we look ahead to the new season.
But first, we have tomorrow’s season finale to relish. Back on Wednesday, both John Moore and Tony Cruz failed to add to their winning tallies in the early races, and it was not until the last race that John broke the deadlock when winning with Business As Usual. As a result, there’s a margin of just two winners between John and Tony, and now we’ll have to wait and see whether it’s Tony who can defend his lead to take his third trainer’s premiership in his career, or John who can catch him to be crowned champion for the first time in 16 years.
Racegoers at Sha Tin can also find out which top racehorses will be honoured for their season’s outstanding achievements in the Champions Award Presentation Ceremony, and say goodbye to all jockeys on the track after racing. But please be reminded to come earlier than usual tomorrow as we will also host a farewell ceremony for another retired former Horse of the Year Good Ba Ba, as well as retiring trainer Alex Wong, at the Parade Ring before the first race.
For the 11-race card, I would not be surprised to see the two last races of the season deciding the Trainer Premiership. If John Moore would be able to pull two winners back and tie with Tony Cruz, in relation to the number of runner-ups John would win the Championship with the countback.
The Sha Tin Mile Trophy is expected to be run at a slow pace which would help horses in the front of the field. National Treasure with his stable mate Vitality Express should lead. National Treasure is for me one of the best chances, even his last win was only by a margin of head. The pace is my main concern for Fat Choy Oohlala who will be coming from the back, but he’s working very well and is still for me the horse to beat in regarding his emphatic performance in his last run. Moore-trained Silver Grecian is working well too and he has a nice top-three chance as well.
The HK Racehorse Owners Association Trophy, as the last race of the season, should be run at a good pace with Golden Bauhinia and Perfect Gear in the lead. Adoration and Fulfil A Wish should be both well positioned and are working well. The pair will have a good place chance for me. Despite running three-wide last time, St Fevre still managed to get a place finish at three-quarters of a length behind Fulfil A Wish. It was a very nice effort and I think he should be in the finish in this race, too. However, Sweet Orange remains to be my top choice in this race as I think he should improve further from his good run last time.
But tonight, we will also be bringing you our last overseas simulcast races of the season – the Darley July Cup raceday from Newmarket. The Darley July Cup, the sixth leg of this year’s Global Sprint Challenge, will certainly be the highlight of the evening. It appears that this season there has been no single dominating force in the sprint division in Europe. So it looks likely to be quite an open race, and I’ll be keen to see how leading hopefuls like Delegator, Star Witness and Dream Ahead perform in this six-furlong race. Hope you all enjoy the best of luck in our simulcast tonight and at Sha Tin tomorrow!
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