At Sha Tin Racecourse on Sunday we saw our reigning Horse of the Year Ambitious Dragon trounced 13 top-class opponents to win the first leg of the Triple Crown – the Hong Kong Group 1 Stewards’ Cup over 1600m. Jockey Douglas Whyte had him positioned three wide early in the race and appeared to need little effort in steering him to the front on entering the home stretch. By the 200m mark he had all but sealed victory when he cruised past leader Xtension.
This impressive performance showed more or less the same casual style as his debut victory of the current season in the National Day Cup at 1400m in early-October. It's a clear sign that this five-year-old is continuing to improve his game. Now trainer Tony Millard will prepare him for the Hong Kong Gold Cup later this month over the more familiar distance of 2000m, at which he scored a pair of Group 1 successes last season. Then maybe if he performs well in this race, we will see him progress to the Champions & Chater Cup, and have a shot at becoming our first Triple Crown winner for almost 20 years.
Racing fans always love to see top horses really show their class against high-quality fields. Another five-year-old that has been doing that recently in Australia is sprinter Black Caviar, who was back in the winner's circle once again last Friday when she triumphed in her first start of 2012, the Group 2 Australia Stakes at Moonee Valley.
Black Caviar was ranked second, just behind mighty European miler Frankel, in the 2011 World Thoroughbred Rankings announced last month by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities. In this 1200m race she had only five opponents but made the job of defeating them look easy. The win extends her unbeaten sequence to 17 races, equalling the feat of our legendary sprinter Silent Witness in 2005.
All Black Caviar's wins to date have been on home ground, however, so the big question racing fans have long been asking is how she will shape up on overseas turf. Hopefully we will soon discover the answer to that, as trainer Peter Moody has suggested he will take her to the Royal Ascot meeting in June, possibly stopping off first in Dubai for the World Cup races in late March. First, though, attention will be focused on her first contest at the extended distance of 1400m, in the Group 1 C F Orr Stakes at Caulfield Racecourse on 11 February.
I believe many of you will remember that Silent Witness suffered the first defeat of his career when stretched to the 1600m for the first time in the 2005 Champions Mile. I hope this great mare, now with seven G1 titles in hand, will enjoy better luck and not disappoint her army of supporters on Saturday week.
Getting back to local racing, tonight we have our first Happy Valley meeting of the Year of the Dragon. By way of an early celebration of the Lantern Festival which traditionally concludes the Chinese New Year festivities, we will host a lamp-riddle guessing game which offers fantastic prizes, among them 24K gold-plated lucky gongs. Those of you who dress up in traditional Chinese clothing and pose for a snap in the Beer Garden can join the Best Dressed Contest and have the chance winning a $2,000 cash prize. So please bring your best-dressed friends to Happy Valley tonight and enjoy another great evening of top sport and fun.
For the eight races on the card, the Victoria Racing Club Trophy as a Class 3 1000m sprint is expected to be run at a good to fast pace. An inside draw combined with the ability to lead could give horses a significant advantage. My favourite in this race is Hawthorne, who can break fast and has drawn Gate 4. With his ability to run very good sectionals at the end of the race, I think he will be the horse to beat. Flashing Guy is my next choice with his reasonable draw of 6 and he will positioned behind the leaders. Good Boy Boy has to overcome Gate 8 and is working well and is a place chance for me. I expect a better run from Charity Spirit who is working much better and with his draw in 3, he will be a top-three chance for me.
The Kwun Tong Handicap as last race of the day and run as Class 2 over 1800m, has attracted a top class field with many chance runners in the race. With Hot Shot in the lead together with Happy Guys and Business As Usual, the expected slow pace will benefit horses in the front of the field. Business As Usual is one of my favourites for this race, as well as Happy Guys who is working well. Osvaldo was unlucky in his last race. He will be positioned just behind the leaders and he has a good chance for me. Mr Bond will come from behind midfield and with his ability to accelerate, he has a good win and place chance for me as well.
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