There were a number of international friendly football matches in Europe in midweek. Naturally, I paid closest attention to Germany’s game against old rivals England at Wembley. A decent header from Per Mertesacker meant we won the match by a single goal. It’s always uplifting to gain a win, particularly when it comes on British soil, although with both sides experimenting and with key players missing, the result does not mean too much. By the way, there was another friendly that took place, which I imagine would have drawn less attention, as Gibraltar played their first official international match this week, after becoming a full Uefa member earlier this year. They finished the match with a creditable goalless draw against their stronger opponents Slovakia and I think that will definitely go down as a great start for them.
With Uruguay sealing the final World Cup spot on Thursday morning Hong Kong time, the line-up of all 32 teams for next summer’s World Cup is complete. No doubt some of you are still taking about Cristiano Ronaldo’s stunning hat-trick against Sweden, and the impressive comeback win by France against Ukraine. They and their fellow contenders will know which teams they will face in the group stages at the World Cup finals when FIFA hosts the draw starting at midnight Hong Kong time on 6 December.
However, in that particular week, there is a far more important world sporting event going on - the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races! Back on Wednesday we unveiled the list of selected runners for the four G1s on 8 December, which included 27 overseas contenders coming in from seven countries. If we include our home runners, led by Military Attack and Lucky Nine, there are a total of 21 international G1 winners in the list, reflecting the great quality in the line-up this year.
The main point of interest among many of my racing friends both overseas and in Hong Kong is the participation of three incredibly talented fillies from Europe. Moonlight Cloud and Sky Lantern in the Mile, and The Fugue in the Vase, represent the strongest group of fillies we have had at the event for years. The trio performed exceptionally well in Europe this year and they have amassed eight G1 wins between them this season. The Fugue also came close to adding a Breeders’ Cup win to her successful year as she was just narrowly defeated in the BC Turf earlier this month. They could well be the runners to beat in the Mile and Vase races this time. As some of you may know, The Fugue is owned by the famous musical composer Lord Lloyd-Webber, who also owned another very good filly in Dar Re Mi a few years ago. It’s great to see these star horses and connections regard our flagship event as one of the “not to miss” prime races, and their participation is making the HKIR “the Greatest Show on Turf”.
Two defending champions are also returning to Sha Tin. To me, Lord Kanaloa is a prime force to be reckoned with in the Sprint. He was the dominant sprinter in Japan this season and also put the top milers in their place with his victory in the Yasuda Kinen in June. Last year’s Vase winner Red Cadeaux is a lovely horse, and has an especially close following here in Hong Kong – I know many of our local fans supported him in both the Dubai World Cup and Melbourne Cup this year. Although he has yet to notch a win this term, this experienced globetrotter ran right up to his best to take second in those two top class races. Another good performance in Hong Kong would certainly delight his owner, our Club’s former Chairman Ronald Arculli, as well as his regular rider Gerald Mosse – the winning-most jockey in HKIR who is seeking for his 9th victory in this prestigious race meeting.
I hope all the selected horses will have a smooth preparation and travel comfortably to Hong Kong for the races. Local fans can also capture the latest performance of selected Vase runner Simenon in our Japan Cup simulcast tomorrow. It will be a tough task for this Irish stayer as he will be facing reigning Japanese Horse of the Year Gentildonna, who will have the assistance of the brilliant Ryan Moore in a new partnership this time. I have just arrived in Tokyo and as in previous years I will attend the race tomorrow and see how these top horses perform.
As for our races in Hong Kong we also have a 10-race card for our Chevalier Cup day at Sha Tin tomorrow. In the featured Chevalier Cup (Handicap), it’s a Class 1 over 1600m and has attracted 2 rising stars in All You Wish and Designs On Rome who will meet in this race and expected to gone further to the G1 Hong Kong Classic Mile and potentially if they stay further to the BMW Hong Kong Derby. The pace is expected to be good to slow with Penglai Xianzi being the most likely leader, with Perfect Cheers either sharing the lead or taking the box seat on the inside of Business As Usual. Designs On Rome and All You Wish should be well placed in midfield with Free Judgement and Let Me Handle It behind them, while the widely drawn Packing OK and Noble Alpha may be taken back.
Designs On Rome and All You Wish have both improved from their first start in this season and they have been working very well. Designs On Rome has already won over 1600m and is likely to stay even further, while All You Wish tackles the 1600m for the first time, but looking at his runs and pedigree I think it should not be an issue for him. In my view there is not much on paper between the two, but I slightly prefer All You Wish as he just needs to carry 124 pounds, receiving a five-pound advantage from Designs On Rome. His closing sectional times are slightly superior, too. For the older horses, Noble Alpha tries the mile distance for the first time in Hong Kong and I would not be surprised if he runs well and perhaps even testing the two favourites.
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