Many like me who were at Longchamp, hoping to witness a historical racing moment, were left slightly disappointed on Sunday, as Treve could not seal a fairytale ending for her career with a third win in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Watching from Longchamp’s grandstand, the champion mare travelled well in midfield but she did not show much acceleration and hung late, finishing fourth behind winner Golden Horn.
In contrast, Frankie Dettori made a very positive run on Golden Horn, settling him in a prime position for an impressive run, bringing Frankie a fourth victory in the Arc. He also now has a sizable 12-point lead over Maxime Guyon in the World’s Best Jockey race, a title we will crown at our gala in December. Take nothing away from the winner – it is a remarkable year to have the Epsom Derby, Eclipse Stakes, Irish Champion Stakes and the Arc in the same campaign.
Apart from enjoying all big races on the Arc day, among various IFHA meeting sessions, there’s also an important matter that came up about Hong Kong, as the International Grading and Race Planning Committee approved our application to upgrade the Chairman’s Sprint Prize to an international G1 event. The purse has been increased to HK$10 million, and the date moved back one week to May 1, coinciding with the Champions Mile meeting.
This promotion further boosts our schedule as we will now have two top-grade international sprints annually in our fixtures, offering a better representation when compared to the number of world-class sprinters we have in Hong Kong. It also filled the void of a top sprint in the Asian racing calendar left by the discontinuation of the KrisFlyer International Sprint.
Speaking of sprinters, Straight Girl defeated a host of top sprinters including Hong Kong’s Rich Tapestry, with her win in the Sprinters Stakes on Sunday. I’m delighted to learn that this top mare, like her predecessor Lord Kanaloa in 2013, will target for the LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint in December as the farewell run of her career.
Being not far off last year when third to Aerovelocity, Straight Girl was in even better form as Sunday’s win was her second at top-level this year.
I’m due to arrive back in Hong Kong just before racing on Wednesday and look forward to being at Happy Valley as the Oktoberfest party continues. The feature is a Class 2 event, the Ireland Trophy Handicap, and we will mix the German party with our friends from the St. Patrick’s Society of Hong Kong.
There does not appear to be a significant amount of early speed in this race over 1,200 metres. You Read My Mind is drawn well inside and should go for the lead, while All Great Friends and Happy Yeah Yeah should take a nice spot just behind. Pablosky is making his seasonal return and comes back sprinting, and could be urged to get involved from the start off a wide draw for Joao Moreira. Meanwhile, Lucky Double Eight, Born In China, Bullish Friend, and Country Melody all seem poised to track the others from middle barrier draws.
The trackwork from All Great Friends has been quite impressive, including his last barrier trial when leading throughout without much urging, and he is also quite fond of Happy Valley, with all four of his Hong Kong wins coming from 11 starts at the city track. As such, All Great Friends is a win and place chance for me. Country Melody has dropped some weight since his first start of the year and gets his first look at Happy Valley. He is a placing chance for me, along with Born In China, who should get a good trip but is on the step-up into Class 2.
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