From the Japan Cup simulcast last Sunday I believe many of you saw the great ride by World’s Best Jockey Ryan Moore on board Last Impact, as he made a ground-saving run and steered the horse to the front in the last stage of the race. But still it wasn’t enough as Shonan Pandora was too good and she nicked a win at the wire. It was a cracking race though and I believe many would be pleased by Ryan’s and the winning horse’s top-class performances.
With Shonan Pandora winning the Japan Cup and Tonalist taking the Cigar Mile in America over the weekend, it also marked the end of this year’s Longines World’s Best Jockey contest. It was Frankie Dettori who succeeded took the spoils with a second-place tie between Victor Espinoza and Ryan Moore.
Frankie is a fan favourite in many jurisdictions – and Hong Kong is no exception. Having ridden winners in five of the World’s Top 100 G1s over the past 12 months, the best of those wins were the quartet he obtained aboard European Horse of the Year Golden Horn in the Derby, Eclipse Stakes, Irish Champion Stakes and the Arc. I guess many local fans will be very happy to see Frankie returning to his very best, enjoying such a remarkable season in the saddle. He will be in Hong Kong next week to receive his World’s Best Jockey Award during the gala dinner of the Hong Kong International Races on Friday week, 11 December.
Having said that, Victor Espinoza, Ryan Moore, Maxime Guyon and James McDonald - four of the following five elite jockeys in the World’s Best Jockey - are all on our IJC roster next Wednesday. Their presence, combined with four of our local riders led by champion Joao Moreira, will ensure great thrills and excitement in our annual signature event at Happy Valley next week.
Before then there will be another night meeting at the Valley this evening. Among the eight races on the card, the Sunflower Handicap (2nd section) is a Class 3 over 1200m on the C+3 track and goes as tonight’s seventh race.
Grace Heart could go forward or settle midpack, but given the setup in this race, I anticipate he will be in a handy position for a race pace that is likely going to be good-to-slow. That should only help him with the extended rail setting. Fantastic Feeling will likely be just behind the speed, joined by Wah May Baby. Generous Bobo should get a tracking position in mid-pack along with Racing Mate and Hong Kong Dancer, who should be rear of mid-division. I’d expect Both Lucky and Who’sthedude to come from well off the pace. This pace setup should aid those up front.
As such, Grace Heart is my first choice. He is in good form and tonight finds the track being rated good which is to his liking. Last time, he caught a softer surface which would not have suited him as much. The draw and pace should favour him too. Meanwhile, his main opponents are Fantastic Feeling, ideally placed behind him, along with Generous Bobo, who can follow both of them to make a strong final dash to potentially overcome both. Wah May Baby will likely be favoured by the pace and his position in the race and is a place chance for me.
Comment
