The first night meeting in the Year of the Goat went very well on Wednesday as again we had a great turnout with more than 18,000 at Happy Valley. Many racegoers took the time to watch the horses parading pre-race at the paddock and there was also the option to enjoy our special performances at the Beer Garden, which I know many did. It all made for a vibrant on-course atmosphere on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year – a day in Chinese tradition being everybody's birthday.
As we enter the month of March we head into a rather busy period. Three top-class contests will be held during the next fortnight – first is the G1 Citibank Hong Kong Gold Cup tomorrow, and then on 15 March we have the G1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup and the most prestigious local contest, the BMW Hong Kong Derby. Sandwiched between those race days is the first leg of the Interport races, the HKG3 Hong Kong Macau Trophy on Sunday week. So, like I said, it’s going to be an eventful time for racing fans with lots of racing excitement.
You might also notice we announced earlier this week that Gordon Lord Byron is selected to run in the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup. This season four of our top-class contests have been promoted to international G1 level and are therefore open to international runners. This Irish sprinter-miler, who I’m sure needs no introduction to most of you, would become the first overseas runner to take part in any of these four newly-promoted races, should he come to contest the 1400m event. He has raced here four times before, finishing fourth three times, twice in the LONGINES Hong Kong Mile and also in this past December’s LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint. Given his proven record at Sha Tin he will be a good addition to the field.
For now, I’m sure most of your attention is focused on tomorrow’s Citibank Hong Kong Gold Cup. Although there are just eight runners in this 2000m G1 event, it’s a really interesting contest. Designs On Rome and Military Attack will surely be the two leading runners. They’ve been grabbing the headlines, as they are set to square off again here after producing an exciting duel in the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup.
I had a look through the past records and I came across an interesting fact that since the Hong Kong Cup was promoted as a G1 in 1999, no winner in that race has ever been able to replicate that performance and win the Hong Kong Gold Cup over the same course and distance in the same season. Designs On Rome did so well in our internationals in December and tomorrow he will bid to amend that fact and score another major achievement. He will also try to bring home a 9th Gold Cup victory since 1991 for his trainer John Moore.
As for Military Attack, he has held his own in three meetings with Designs On Rome so far this season, and has twice crossed the finish line ahead of his arch-rival. He only failed by a short-head when it mattered most last time, so let’s see if he can turn the tables to win it here.
This race is the middle jewel of Hong Kong’s Triple Crown and will be run for the first time as an internationally recognized Group 1 event with the added benefit of an increase in prize money to HK$10 million. River Verdon is the only horse to have won Hong Kong’s Triple Crown and he is in no danger again this year with Able Friend, winner of the Stewards’ Cup – the first leg of the Triple Crown – skipping this race to point instead for the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup on Derby day. River Verdon won the Gold Cup three times – between 1992 and 1994 – in his illustrious career and Military Attack has the opportunity to duplicate that success as he has won the last two runnings of this prestigious 2000m event. In fact, Military Attack did not just win the last two, he dominated.
The Gold Cup once again produces a relatively small field of elite runners, headed by reigning Horse of the Year Designs On Rome and two members of Hong Kong’s $50 million club, California Memory and Military Attack. Designs On Rome has won his last two races and is a solid win chance in his current form. This looks to be his best trip, having won three of four over the course and distance and the three wins have come in the BMW Hong Kong Derby, the Audemars Piguet QEII Cup and, most recently, Hong Kong’s richest race – the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup in December. Following this race, he is scheduled to go to Dubai for the Dubai Sheema Classic on 28 March.
Military Attack has won this race fairly easily in each of the last two years and is also a former Hong Kong Horse of the Year. He suffered a setback in recent weeks, losing 26 pounds before being withdrawn from the Centenary Vase and has had a series of steady gallops to prepare for his title defence. He has performed at a very high level in each of his three runs this season, just missing to Designs On Rome in the Hong Kong Cup, and is a place chance. Khaya and Helene Super Star are also place chances despite the fact that all starters carry equal weight of 126 pounds. Both horses are in good form and will be benefitted from what is expected to be a slow tempo.
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