Yesterday, I was at Mong Kok Stadium to witness our annual football event, the HKJC Community Cup, featuring last season’s Hong Kong Premier League champions Kitchee and runners-up Wofoo Tai Po.
It was a tight match as both teams showed that they have already found great form early in the season. It was Kitchee who eventually came out on top, winning this year’s title with a late goal and an eventual 1-0 scoreline. Following our set tradition, we have donated a sum to the United Christian Hospital and Street Soccer Hong Kong, as nominated by both teams. I wish both teams the best and hope they have plenty of success both in their home and continental competitions this season.
It was a terrific and enjoyable day for us all and also for the thousands of fans who attended the event yesterday, including many students and less-privileged people who attended the match for free. This is the fifth year the Club has sponsored the Community Cup, which uniquely combines football with community engagement, as we believe that encouraging people to take an active part in sports can bring many benefits to society, especially the younger generation.
Back to racing, and we are seeing some of our elite gallopers returning to the fray – and not just at Sha Tin. Today, our veteran sprinter Lucky Bubbles took part in the G1 Sprinters Stakes at Nakayama Racecourse in Japan. I was not optimistic about the horse’s prospects, especially with the wide draw and the rain-affected track. The chestnut broke fairly at the jump today, but it started to lose its rhythm at the turn and it was sad to see him pulled up by Brett Prebble entering the home straight. I have been informed that Lucky Bubbles suffered a suspensory injury and my thoughts are with the sprinter, his trainer Francis Lui and the Lucky Syndicate owners.
Our National Day race meeting at Sha Tin tomorrow is the traditional starting point for Group racing this season, with two G3 handicaps on the card – the National Day Cup over 1000m and the Celebration Cup over 1400m. I really look forward to seeing some if our best horses back at the races tomorrow.
The National Day Cup is scheduled as Race 7 and is headlined by the John Size-trained duo of Ivictory and Hot King Prawn. Ivictory ended last season on a high, gaining his maiden G1 win in the Chairman’s Sprint Prize and was crowned Champion Sprinter. He’s set to square off for the first time with his talented stablemate Hot King Prawn, who makes his first attempt at Group company here.
The pace is expected to be good and the identity of the two leaders is almost too obvious. Fabulous One and Hot King Prawn have all the required pace, but perhaps Karis Teetan on Hot King Prawn will try to position that gelding slightly off the premier position. Jumbo Luck will be in close proximity, with Ivictory and Not Listenin’tome sitting just off them.
With a rating of 128, Ivictory, ridden by Zac Purton, will have to carry the top weight of 133 pounds. He is working well and has won over the 1000m but I see him being stronger over 1200m. Still, due to his class, he is a win and place chance.
He will have to give 16 pounds to Hot King Prawn, who has won five times at the course and distance. He is working very well too and he is my first choice.
Not Listenin’tome has been given some handicap relief in the off-season review by our Handicappers and is now rated 107, which should make him more competitive. He was in Conghua from 30 August to 28 September and looked very well in his trackwork. He is in my view a place chance.
The Celebration Cup shapes as a fascinating race, too, and is set to go off as Race 8. The quality and the depth in this race is really exciting, with the likes of last season’s Horse Of the Year Beauty Generation, BMW Hong Kong Derby winner Ping Hai Star, Hong Kong Classic Mile winner Nothingilikemore and G1 winner Seasons Bloom all in the mix, while many other solid performers step out here as well. Those runners at the lower end of the handicaps have apparently enjoyed a slender advantage in the recent renewals of both races, so it will be interesting to see if it remains the case tomorrow.
The pace will be good to slow, which gives a slight advantage for horses closer to the pace, and last year, Beauty Generation was able to lead this race with his light weight and eventually went all the way. Twelve months later, he’s the reigning Horse of the Year and accordingly he has been asked to shoulder 133 pounds. Still, he looks to have a pace advantage over his rivals and he should lead again. Romantic Touch led throughout first-up over this course and distance, but the tempo there was very pedestrian indeed. Southern Legend and California Whip can sit just behind the speed, with the likes of Ping Hai Star and Seasons Bloom dropping right back.
Beauty Generation, Fifty Fifty, Southern Legend, Ping Hai Star and last, but not least, Nothingilikemore are all working very well, while Born In China and Romantic Touch have produced very good performances already.
Under handicap conditions, it is never easy for horses like Beauty Generation or Seasons Bloom to give 13 to 17 pounds away to horses like Born In China – who has had already a run and is a win and place chance for me – but I see the two top-weights as place chances. The same applies to Fifty Fifty and Southern Legend but I prefer our two Classic heroes, Ping Hai Star and Nothingilikemore, who have both performed strongly over 1400m.They are both not fully tuned up but both are very exciting now as five-year-olds with further potential, especially Nothingilikemore between 1400m and 1600m.
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