Exultant and California Whip completed a sweep of G3 features for trainer Tony Cruz with their respective wins in the Premier Plate and Premier Cup at Sha Tin on Sunday. I believe many racing fans were even more delighted to learn about the excellent performance of Werther in the Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin that same afternoon.
Having overcome uncertainties that included the earthquake in Osaka earlier in the week, significant weight loss from travel and a wide draw, our Horse of the Year from two seasons back still produced a terrific turn-of-foot in the final stages, finishing a gallant second behind Mikki Rocket in this 2200m G1 contest.
It was a very good result. I agreed with his jockey Hugh Bowman, who said that it wasn’t the ideal preparation, especially given he missed three months in the middle of the season and ran only once over the mile after his return. Despite the depth of his competition, Werther still ran a cracking race in Japan. It was certainly a great achievement both for the horse itself and for Hong Kong racing.
It was a pity that we were not able to show the race live to our local audience and fans, but to do so – when we were not able to bet on the race – would have only served to foster illegal betting activities. Therefore, we could only show the race on delay. In my view, it would definitely be a positive move if the existing simulcast framework became more flexible.
After all, we are very selective in the races we import. Races featuring Hong Kong horses or races and race meetings of exceptional quality are the type we wish to bring to our loyal fans. We are a global brand and now with the establishment of our global commingling hub, it is more important than ever that we participate in the world’s best races. We will never be like America, Australia or England where the number of races simulcast annually is in the tens of thousands, but we do need added flexibility to better serve our fans.
On the World Cup, I’m happy to see Germany bounce back and win their second group match against Sweden, despite leaving it very late before Toni Kroos scored the winning goal – basically in the last kick of the game. Die Mannschaft will be playing against South Korea tonight, with the match kicking off during the later races on our Happy Valley card this evening. I will be paying attention to both racing and football action then. By the way, I’m also very impressed by the great performance of Belgium so far and I think they will be one of the teams that are worthy of attention in the knockout stage.
Racing returns to Happy Valley for the first time in a fortnight. Joao Moreira now still trails Zac Purton by five wins in the jockey premiership. It is remarkable that neither Joao nor Zac has a ride in the Class 3 sprint in Race 7. There are just 56 races left in the season and this may be the only one remaining where both will be watching from the jockeys’ room.
Among the eight races on our card this evening is the featured Manuwatu Racing Club Challenge Trophy, a Class 2 1800m handicap which will be run as Race 5. The expected pace of the race will be moderate with Jolly Gene the likely leader with Doctor Geoff, Helene Charisma and Winning Faith in close pursuit. Doctor Geoff looks to be in top form now, has drawn a good gate and has the services of Zac Purton. This is his first time under the lights but he did trial well over the course in April and is a win and place chance tonight as he should get an ideal trip.
A High Achievement Bonus award of $750,000 can take the winner’s share to over $1.8 million for Doctor Geoff, Winning Faith and Insayshable if they can win in Class 2 before the end of the current season. Insayshable comes back from a six-month layoff after suffering a setback in his Hong Kong debut in December when he was a close third to Singapore Sling. He is a talented horse and a place chance but he may be one that performs best when there is a bit of cut in the ground. Litterateur and Pikachu are both in good form and should be running on late as place chances.
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