There was no racing here in Hong Kong last Sunday as our weekend action took the form of a Saturday fixture. That rare schedule gave me the chance on Sunday to focus my attention on two big international Group 1 contests, Japan’s Takarazuka Kinen and the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud in France. As those of you who have watched them will know, they were very exciting races.
The Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin Racecourse is the major grand prix race for the first half of the year in Japan. Gold Ship, an incredibly talented but famously temperamental horse, was seeking his third consecutive win in this G1 event and was sent off as the race favourite, but he blew his winning chance when he reared up and missed the break, ultimately finishing second last. That was an anticlimax. But although Gold Ship blew his chance at the start, we cannot take any credit away from race winner Lovely Day, or the late-storming runner-up Denim And Ruby.
A little later, in France, the great mare Treve remained on course for her bid to achieve an unprecedented third consecutive win in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe this autumn. Having watched the race, I think both the second and third-placed horses – December’s LONGINES Hong Kong Vase winner Flintshire and March’s Dubai Sheema Classic winner Dolniya – produced terrific runs, but neither could top Treve who cruised home for the win. Based on that performance she has shown everybody that, even as a five-year-old, she still has the desire to race and is very much at the top of her game.
Treve’s latest win is her third in a row and it will be interesting to see which route trainer Criquette Head-Maarek will take with this French superstar to ensure that she gets to the Arc in peak condition.
Back to Hong Kong, Joao Moreira has already sealed his first Hong Kong Champion Jockey title with four race meetings to spare. If he is to maintain his winning strike rate into next season then I think there is a very strong possibility that he could yet win three or more Champion Jockey titles in the future.
In my view, it’s sensational that Joao has so far obtained 139 wins this season, particularly if one considers the high quality of competition posed by all our riders here in Hong Kong. We are pleased to have Joao here, he is one of the world’s best and he is a perfect match for our world-class status.
However, as Joao incurred a suspension when he was riding at Royal Ascot in England a fortnight ago, he has to sit out the next two Hong Kong race meetings, including our Hong Kong Reunification Raceday at Sha Tin Racecourse this afternoon.
Over the past few seasons we have scheduled a race meeting on this day of the year, so that we can join with all of you in celebrating the establishment of the HKSAR. As in previous years, we have arranged some special entertainment programmes on course, which I hope will enhance a fun day at the races.
As for the 11 races on the card, the Hong Kong Reunification Cup is definitely the day’s highlight. This Class 2 1650m event on the all-weather track gathers some of our top dirt performers. The expected pace is good to fast, with six horses being capable of leading or sitting just off the pace. Approve from gate 11 has to work early to get across the field, but he should share the lead with Pablosky or Fabulous November. Sichuan Vigour, Obliterator, Dehere's The Love, Gun Pit and Apollo's Choice can be well placed on or near the rails. Hypersonic may be eased back to avoid racing wide.
Gun Pit is working well and is one of my picks in this competitive race. Dehere's The Love is working well too and is one of John Size’s weapons to get an important win for his fight for the Trainers' Championship, as is Sichuan Vigour. Pablosky is my first choice especially with our 10-pound claimer Jack Wong on board. He could score a valuable point for John Moore to keep his lead in the Trainers’ Championship.
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