You may have watched our simulcast of the Patinack Farm Classic from Australia this morning. In the early hours of tomorrow, we will also simulcast four of the Breeders' Cup races from Santa Anita in the US, giving our racing fans the chance to catch up on two major racing events from opposite ends of the globe within the space of 19 hours. I hope you find these arrangements useful and very entertaining.
You may, however, be wondering about the Club's rationale in simulcasting these two events within a day. The reason is that they both have a strong link to our Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Races next month. The Patinack Farm Classic is the 7th leg of the Global Sprint Challenge, the final leg of which will be the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint. In fact, five of the runners in the Patinack field have been nominated for our International Races, meaning one or more of them may be key contestants on our home turf next month.
Likewise, 15 of the runners that feature in the four Breeders' Cup races we are simulcasting early Sunday morning have also been nominated for our International Races. That explains why, aided by the approval of 15 additional simulcast days this season, we have decided to bring more races from this premier American racing carnival to Hong Kong this year for our local fans' viewing. We hope it can help widen the international vision of our racing public.
All of you can watch the live performances of star runners like Goldikova - six-time Group One winner and currently the highest-rated active racehorse in the world; Zenyatta - the unbeaten mare who is striving for her 14th career victory; Conduit - the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner and Breeders' Cup Turf defending champion; and Rip Van Winkle, which rated by his trainer Aidan O'Brien as the most brilliant runner he has trained over the years.
So I hope you will stay tuned for these four races tomorrow morning. Personally, I will be watching how defending champion Goldikova performs in the Breeders' Cup Mile. This prolific filly has maintained her impressive performances this term as she snatched three Group One events this year, most notably the Prix Rothschild and Prix Jacques Le Marois in France this summer. She's in great form and let's see if she can follow the footstep of legendary mare Miesque by winning the Breeders' Cup Mile for the second consecutive year. But I also rate another two European contenders, Frankie Dettori-ridden Delegator, and Sir Michael Stoute-trained runner Zacinto as being well capable of challenging Goldikova in this event.
For the Breeders' Cup Turf, many will expect Presious Passion to lead the race by a large margin, producing a hot pace in the early stage. This will favour Conduit and this in-form runner should be the dominant force in this 2400m race. Among the other contestants, young filly Dar Re Mi has continued to show improvement with her creditable 5th place finish in the Arc de Triomphe. So has Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud winner Spanish Moon, who has only raced lightly this term. I will not be too surprised if these two horses give Conduit a close run.
In the Breeders' Cup Classic, the change of some American tracks from the classic dirt to synthetic surfaces has made it more difficult for us to assess the different form lines. But it is generally reckoned that the European horses find it easier to adapt to the artificial surface than to traditional dirt, making them stronger contenders at Santa Anita now. However, I still fancy the chance of local hopeful Summer Bird in this race. This three-year-old has had a very successful campaign this summer winning three Group One events, including his defeat of older opponents in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. He was sent to California well before the race to prepare, and I hope to see if he can win this major dirt event.
However, if Queen Elizabeth II Stakes winner Rip Van Winkle can handle the synthetic surface, he will surely be the main danger in the race. Another runner Einstein, trained by Helen Pitts-Blasi - the daughter of our former Chief Stipendiary Steward Clinton Pitts - is also worthy of note, as the horse has shown steady progress since winning the Santa Anita Handicap in March.
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