There is plenty for all us racing fans to get excited about this weekend. Not only do we have 10 races at Sha Tin tomorrow, there are also nine simulcast races today and tomorrow, of which seven are G1 events featuring some of the possible contenders for our LONGINES Hong Kong International Races coming December! Despite that, no doubt most attention will focus on the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Sunday morning as our best dirt sprinter Rich Tapestry will make his second appearance in the US in this US$1.5 million G1 event.
Our top gallopers have had a very decent year so far in 2014. Before Rich Tapestry made his American debut last month, we had already notched four overseas G1 successes – two each in Dubai and Singapore – this year. Michael Chang’s stable ace added to our tally with his victory last time in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship on 4 October. These all represent a very rewarding year for us and help show to the global audience the world-class quality of racing we have in Hong Kong, with a racehorse population of just around 1,200.
Rich Tapestry is already the first Hong Kong Horse to win in the US and now he is approaching a new frontier for Hong Kong racing as he will become our first runner in the Breeders’ Cup since this US race meeting was inaugurated in 1984. What’s even better is the fact that he’s not an also-run but one of the leading hopefuls in this speed contest.
Certain media friends arrived in Los Angeles earlier this week and they have reported that, thanks to the great care of Michael and his team, Rich Tapestry is now in beaming condition. On Thursday morning he had his final blow-out and apparently moved very well as he quickened down Santa Anita’s home straight.
It’s nice to learn that the horse is more than ready and eager for the challenge today. I have arrived in Los Angeles to attend the race and give my loudest cheering support to Rich Tapestry. Regardless of the outcome, the horse has already written a new chapter in our racing history in Hong Kong, and hopefully he will again do us proud and run well in the race.
In another development, we have also announced the list of first stage nominees for our LONGINES HKIR at Sha Tin on 14 December. I’m very delighted as a total of 209 horses have been entered for our Turf World Championships this year. They include 70 G1 winners, which is four more than last year. The excellent nominations again confirm the meeting’s status as the de facto end-of-year G1 showcase for world racing.
Being here in Santa Anita also gives me the chance to watch in person the performances of some of those top-class HKIR entrants, world stars such as Flintshire, Telescope and Brown Panther in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, as well as Toronado, Obviously and Karakontie in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Of course I will be pleased if a few of these elite horses were to come to Hong Kong for our flagship races and I will take close note of how they perform at Santa Anita today.
Back to Rich Tapestry, I noted some racing commentators in California and the US viewed him as one of the major contenders in the Sprint. His last start form was given a further boost when Goldencents, runner-up of the Santa Anita Sprint Championship, scored his successive win in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile yesterday, Personally I think it will be a duel between Secret Circle and Rich Tapestry in this sprint race, while Palace and Private Zone are my next choices.
Although I will be away and cannot attend the races at Sha Tin tomorrow, I will still try to recap the race replay here in California. Among the 10 races on the card, the featured ninth race is the Chinese Recreation Club Challenge Cup, a 1200m dirt sprint for horses rated between 105 to 80 and trainer John Size has a very strong hand with Access Years, Hypersonic and Silly Buddies in the field of 12. Access Years and Silly Buddies have drawn widest, however, and it opens the race up for Lord Sinclair, which is a win and place chance after finishing a sharp second in this same race five weeks ago.
Lord Sinclair adds blinkers for the first time tomorrow and has drawn the inside gate. This is clearly his track and distance and he will be the one to beat as he has now returned to his top form. Great Spirit is another proven performer on the dirt track and is second up off a good effort when closing ground against Access Years and Lord Sinclair last time. He is a solid place chance coming from the back, as is Domineer, a horse that likes the track and has the speed to enter the fight from the outset.
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