I believe most football fans will have enjoyed a really unforgettable weekend in witnessing the dramatic way that Manchester City won the English Premier League’s champions title – theoretically in the very last minute of the season – last Sunday.
With Manchester United defeating Sunderland, it meant that City must overcome Queen’s Park Rangers at home but they were trailing 2-1 when the 10-men QPR scored their second goal of the match midway through the second half. The hopes of City fans were fading as that scoreline remained when entering the five-minute stoppage time. But in the most incredible and unbelievable fashion, late goals from Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero salvaged City from the brink of defeat and earned their side a first league title since 1968.
I share the same feeling of a few players of City that it was just crazy and I could only compare this dramatic turn-around of results with that of United in the Champions League final in 1999, when Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored two late goals in stoppage time to compete a great comeback against Bayern Munich.
And like both City’s captain Vincent Kompany and scorer Pablo Zabaleta said after Sunday’s match, they never stopped believing that they could win even until the last minute. Their honest grit, great determination, perseverance, professionalism and hard work paid off handsomely and they achieved their greatest escape to clinch the title at last.
I think United also performed very respectably despite losing the title, as like City they also accumulated a high tally of 89 points this season. They also had chances of winning the title as they once led City by as much as eight points, and also endured a few twists and turns with City throughout the season, even during the last game. These all indicated the great sportsmanship of members of both teams, and I think these attributes are the most important ingredients for the success of every sportsman, including us all in the racing circle. Only by behaving in such a manner and showing our commitment can we push ourselves beyond our perceived limits and achieve more than our abilities suggest we can do.
But I think City truly deserved to claim the crown as though they finished the season with the same league points as United, their season double against their Manchester rivals – including a 6-1 thrashing when away at Old Trafford – was truly remarkable. It’s never easy for a team to maintain a high level of play and style when facing the taunt or jeers from opposition fans, as well as the unfamiliar surroundings when playing away in other stadia. Similarly, in racing it’s often difficult for a racehorse to cope with the uncertainties of an unfamiliar environment when it participates in an overseas race.
This factor may also be a major consideration for the connections of Cirrus des Aigles before the Singapore Airlines International Cup this Sunday. After the horse’s victories in the Dubai Sheema Classic and Prix Ganay in France last month, a trip to Singapore was initially on their radar. But after further thought, they decided to withdraw from the SIA Cup to let the horse remain fresh for its next start at the Royal Ascot meeting next month, a racetrack the horse knows well as he won the Champion Stakes there last season.
The withdrawal of the highest-rated Cirrus des Aigles could serve as a boost for the Hong Kong trio of California Memory, Thumbs Up and Zaidan in the same race. At this stage, reports from Singapore show that they all look to have come through their travels well and have settled quite well after arriving in Singapore on Sunday. I will follow the relevant news closely in the next few days and hopefully our runners will enjoy some better luck this time compared to those in Dubai in March.
Before this showpiece event at Singapore on Sunday, we shall have another midweek race meeting here in Hong Kong tonight, and it will be held at the all-weather track at Sha Tin. There are quite a number of very competitive races and proven all weather track performers in tonight’s card. Among them, the Jupiter Handicap is a Class 3 event with an extended rating band of 85 to 60, instead of the normal band of 80 to 60. As a result, there includes seven starters which would normally have started in a Class 2 race. The pace is likely to be good and dirt specialist Happy Index will have to work a little bit from Gate 9 to take the lead, which he successfully did it in all his four previous winning starts over this distance and course. This horse is working very well and on his form. He will be the horse to beat for me.
There are a couple of other runners who are capable of running for a place in this race, but it’s very open as a few of them are running on the dirt or this distance for the first time, which make it more difficult to predict. Adoration from Gate 2 should be well placed and is the ride of Douglas Whyte in this race. In his only start on the dirt over 1650m, he ran a fading 6th to Military Move and the shorter distance today seems to be more suitable for him. Sky Mascot was a very good performer on the dirt, winning this distance for three times. But he was disappointed when he was found having blood in the trachea last time. Super Marshal from Gate 5 should get a good run as he was a good performer on the polytrack and has improved in trackwork. Rich Tapestry is improving and previously won on the polytrack in his overseas start. He has to overcome Gate 12 but I think he’s now a different horse after his earlier gelding operation.
The Venus Handicap as last race of the day has attracted a top class field being run as a Class 1 over 1200m. The pace is expected to be good to fast, with strong pacesetter Horse Galore to work early from Gate 12 to get across to the front. But both Blaze King and rail-drawn Final Answer will make it not easy for him. The pace should enable horses coming from the back to perform better and therefore Straight Gold who should be positioned in midfield and Cerise Cherry coming from the back are having strong chances at least to be placed. Despite his draw of 11 and carrying the weight of 132 pounds, Dynamic Blitz is a strong force on his favourite surface and distance, but his last trial was not as good as usual which makes me a little bit more cautious in relation to winning the race. Final Answer is working very well and being drawn in Gate 1. He is for me a good win and place chance in this event.
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