This week, the entries were announced for our two spring highlights, the Audemars Piguet QEII Cup and the BMW Champions Mile. The quality of those entries and the fact that 12 countries or regions are represented is testament to how important these two International Group 1 races are on the global stage, and I’m very much looking forward to exciting renewals.
It’s particularly pleasing to see Europe’s two top-rated 2000m runners So You Think and Cirrus Des Aigles among the possible contenders for the AP QEII Cup. Many of you will recall that the French star Cirrus Des Aigles contested the G1 CXHK Cup in December, only to cross the line fifth behind California Memory. Christophe Soumillon’s mount encountered plenty of difficulties on that occasion before closing late and he is much better judged on his defeat of the eight-time G1 winning former Australian champion So You Think in the G1 Champion Stakes at Ascot in October.
Both horses are aiming at the Dubai World Cup meeting next Saturday and it will be worth watching that event very closely as no less than 39 horses entered in either or both the AP QEII Cup and BMW Champions Mile will be in action that night; not least our very own G1 Dubai Duty Free-bound stars Ambitious Dragon, Xtension and California Memory, and G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen candidate Lucky Nine.
Horseracing at the highest level is ever advancing. No sooner has one champion been crowned than the next pretender sweeps through on a new broom. So it is with the sport’s infrastructure and Meydan Racecourse in Dubai is a spectacular example of an all-encompassing refurbishment. Indeed, the old Nad Al Sheba track was entirely demolished to make way for Sheikh Mohammed’s grand vision.
Stadia upgrades are necessary in all sports around the globe in order to offer a first-class spectator experience – although few are as wholesale as Meydan. In recent years we too have carried out various refurbishment and facilities improvement projects at both Sha Tin and Happy Valley racecourses. This has been of great importance as, although the related projects involved substantial investment, our aim in those undertakings is to provide the best racing and on-course experience for our Members and race-goers. In fact, the ever-improving racecourse facilities and services have received very well responses from different segments of customers, reflected by the steady-growth of attendance and turnover.
The Japan Racing Association, our racing counterparts in Japan, share the same aspirations as they have been very active over the past decade in undertaking racecourse redevelopment projects, as part of their response to the massive challenge to its racing industry and turnover in the past few years.
Grandstand facilities at Tokyo and Hakodate Racecourses were vastly improved after related work was completed in 2007 (for Tokyo) and 2010 (for Hakodate). I know that the Chukyo Racecourse located at Nagoya in central Japan just re-opened on 3 March, after being closed for two years for improvement work to its track and grandstand. Now the home stretch of the track has been extended to 412.5 metres, about 100 metres more than the old course layout. Two new grandstands, named the Pegasus Stand and the Twin Hat Stand, house boxes, betting and catering facilities and services for all Japanese racing fans.
After Chukyo, JRA is planning to renovate the Sapporo Racecourse located in the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. That work will commence in October this year. Upon its completion in mid-2014, it will offer the first rooftop viewing stand in Japan, providing a spectacular panorama for racing fans to watch and enjoy the races.
For Chukyo, tomorrow the course hosts its first G1 event since renovation, the Takamatsunomiya Kinen. This top sprinting event was once targeted by our Champion horse Sacred Kingdom before he was forced to withdraw from the trip when suffering a bout of colic after boarding the plane. Last year’s top Japanese sprinter Curren Chan will be featured in this race and all racing fans in Hong Kong will have the chance to watch how last December’s Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint contender performs in this renovated track in our live simulcast tomorrow.
And for the 10 local races at Sha Tin, the Castle Peak Bay Handicap is a Class 1 event over 1400m, with a rating band of 110 to 85. Only four horses in the field have ratings which classifies them as Class 1 horses. The expected good pace should give every horse a fair chance, with Penglai Xianzi leading from Gate 1 and Crown Witness coming across from Gate 5. Fulfil A Wish, who is a good representative of our International Sale with 6 wins from 20 starts, should be able to get a good position in the front of the field. With his good form beaten only a head in his last race, as well as very good trackwork, this four-year-old is my favourite for this race. A strong opponent I see in Time After Time which has to come from behind midfield. But he has a strong finish and in his previous appearance on the same distance last December, he can run the last 400m in 22.5 seconds. He is another four-year-old with great potential for further improvement. Voile Rouge is in good form and with his better draw, he can be well positioned in midfield. He has shown good track work form and is a win and place chance in this race. Kyara will come with a strong run from the back of the field and he also has a place chance for me.
Comment
