It has been said Hong Kong is a blessed place, with its exceptional transformation from a small port to a world-class city over the past century. I would say that applies to our horseracing too. Even though we have only two racecourses and a relatively small racehorse population, we have had staunch support down the years from so many Owners, Members and racing fans, and quite a number of our top horses have earned important accolades, gaining high ranks in international classifications.
As many overseas horsemen agree, the mile distance category is one in which Hong Kong horses excel. From past top milers like Fairy King Prawn and Bullish Luck who earned emphatic successes in Hong Kong, Japan and even Dubai, to the more recent heroes like Good Ba Ba, Beauty Flash, Able One and Ambitious Dragon in the past few years, you can see there are always plenty of talented milers here.
If one wants to gauge how this mighty regiment has fared in the international mile ranks, it’s rather simple as you can refer to the fact that only three overseas horses have prevailed to win mile international events in Hong Kong since 2001, with the last being Hat Trick back in the 2005 Hong Kong Mile. A further measure of the Hong Kong milers’ excellence can be seen in the latest World Thoroughbred Rankings which were unveiled earlier this week. Three of the top four Hong Kong racehorses that rated 120 or above also came from the mile company, and Ambitious Dragon, with a year-end rating of 124, ranks as the joint 4th best turf miler in the world, behind only the mighty Frankel, Queen Elizabeth II Stakes winner Excelebration, and Breeders’ Cup mile victor Wise Dan. From our perspectives, it’s certainly a pleasing phenomenon and I hope more outstanding top milers can emerge onto the local racing scene.
This Sunday at Sha Tin some of our established star milers and our four-year-old crack milers in the making, will feature in two HKG1 contests over the metric mile of 1600m – The Stewards’ Cup and the Hong Kong Classic Mile.
The field for the Stewards’ Cup includes almost all the top local performers from December’s LONGINES Hong Kong Mile and LONGINES Hong Kong Cup. Our heroes Ambitious Dragon and California Memory will both be back in business following their international successes. Adding to the excitement, Glorious Days and Xtension will also compete, meaning that all four Hong Kong horses with 120-plus international ratings will participate in the same race. I would say it shapes every bit like a grand prix event. I’m sure many racing fans will be fully focused on this first leg of the season’s Hong Kong Triple Crown series, and see which of them will draw first blood in this clash of the heavy-weight milers.
I think the Hong Kong Classic Mile will be equally interesting as we will see the clash of some rising stars like Gold-Fun, Happy Era and Garlic Boy, who have climbed through local ranks this season, against other quality Private Purchases such as French 2000 Guineas runner-up Californiavitality and UAE Derby runner-up Crackerjack, as well as Chater Dream and Rainbow Chic – both Group race winners in France respectively. It will be interesting to see whether the race winner will be the one with proven results in local races, or if it will be one of those PPs bringing their good overseas form to Hong Kong to claim this HK$6 million event tomorrow.
With a set weight of 126 pounds for all horses, the expected pace of this HKG1 race is good to slow, with Californiavitality likely to lead to overcome his wide draw of 10. Endowing, It Has To Be You, Gold-Fun and probably President Lincoln will be competing for good spots. Both Rainbow Chic and Happy Era will go back, with Garlic Boy being second or third last. Gold-Fun is working very well and is my clear favourite to win the race. Rainbow Chic is improving and has a good form in France by winning a Group 3 over 1600m. I would not be surprised that Garlic Boy and Happy Era will run a good race, as well as Endowing and I think they all have chances to run for a place.
The Stewards' Cup has attracted the best older horses in HK and is a real special treat for racing connoisseurs. With Leading City going forward, he should ensure a good pace which gives every horse a fair chance. Packing Ok should get the box seat with Flying Blue and may be Xtension in the front of the field. Ambitious Dragon, Real Specialist, Glorious Days and Military Attack should be well placed, with California Memory, who is drawn to start in Gate 14, in the back of the field. Ambitious Dragon is working very well and is the horse to beat but Glorious Days is working well too. But I favour Ambitious Dragon to win with Glorious Days for a second place. California Memory will come with a strong dash from the back for a place with Packing Ok, Military Attack and Dan Excel being place chances too!
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