We have come to the end of our current racing season and the curtain will fall following the season finale meeting at Sha Tin tomorrow. The Club hosted the Champion Awards ceremony last night as a way to recognise the achievement of some of the top racehorses who excelled throughout the season. The evening was as glamourous as you might imagine and I was pleased to be able to meet up with so many top horsemen and owners at such an uplifting occasion.
Over the past month, the racing media and fans have shared their opinions about the tussle between Able Friend and Aerovelocity for the Horse of the Year title. These two elite horses have done superbly this season. Able Friend won six pattern races in a row and became the first Hong Kong horse to top the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings earlier this year. Aerovelocity has also been a dominating force and he did exceptionally well in the sprinting ranks, becoming the first Hong Kong horse to win three G1 races in three different countries and regions in the same season.
As you might expect, it was a difficult call for the Judging Panel. It was actually a pleasing scenario, the fact that we had two such outstanding candidates to consider. The result of the Judging Panel voting was that Able Friend was crowned as the Horse of the Year. But it was a close call and I believe nobody could take away from the marvelous achievements of Aerovelocity this season. When all is said and done, he was beaten to the prize by the horse rated the best ever to have raced in Hong Kong according to the official world rankings. It’s a great luxury for us to have these two exciting world-class racehorses in training in Hong Kong at the same time. I hope we will see the more stars emerge at the G1 level next season.
In the process, the John Moore-trained Able Friend also became the sixth horse in the past 15 years to be crowned the Horse of the Year and Champion Miler in the same season. It is also worth noting that Able Friend won the Most Popular Horse award, which was voted solely by the racing public, and by a substantial margin, showing the popularity of our champion.
Tomorrow, racegoers can join us to congratulate Joao Moreira as he will receive his first Hong Kong Champion Jockey trophy at the end of what has been an incredible record-breaking season for him. As for the contest to decide the season’s Champion Trainer title, it will take a phenomenal, highly improbable, feat from John Size if he is to prevent John Moore from taking the title. Size needs seven wins to draw level with John Moore on win count, assuming the Moore stable draws a blank. It’s a similar situation for Keith Yeung who is now trailing leader Vincent Ho by four wins for the newly-introduced Best Freelance Jockey Award.
I am sure there will be a lot of actions and moments not to be missed, so please come along and join us tomorrow, and enjoy the exciting action from our 11 races. The ninth race is the Sha Tin Mile Trophy, a Class 1 mile, with Champion Award winner Contentment the likely favourite among a field of 11 runners. The Most Improved Horse of 2014/2015 has climbed from an initial rating of 52 to a rating of 101 after winning five of eight races in the current season. He was given a bit of a break after not staying the distance in the BMW Hong Kong Derby in mid-March and returned with a good win Class 2 at a mile. He has since trialed well over the dirt track and is a solid place chance whilst eligible for a $250,000 top-up bonus in the High Achievement Bonus scheme. The top-up is available to horses which have previously won the $750,000 principal award in Class 2 and then subsequently win in Class 1 before reaching the age of five.
Contentment will go forward from his wide draw along with stablemate Wonderful Moments, last year's winner of the Sha Tin Mile Trophy. Wonderful Moments will carry a light weight with Jack Wong getting the ride but it seems a tough test in his first race in four months. Fantastic Kaka is a win and top three chance from his good draw. A graduate of the Hong Kong International Sale, I expect Fantastic Kaka to be perfectly positioned behind the early leaders and should get every chance to register what would be the biggest win of his career. Beauty Only, Travel Brother and Pikachu are all place chances in this most interesting race.
The season finale is named The Hong Kong Racehorse Owners Association Trophy and promising newcomer Sun Jewellery is my win and top three chance to continue his winning ways. The Class 2 at 1400 metres seems to be the perfect trip for Sun Jewellery, which should be in close contention to a good pace set by Precision King, High And Mighty and Lang Tai Sing. Amazing Kids steps up a grade after showing consistency in his first three Hong Kong races and will carry a light weight as a consequence. He is a place chance along with High And Mighty and Let Me Go.
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