There is no other place to start today’s Blog other than to express all our concern and best wishes to Tye Angland.
We all know how dangerous racing can be for jockeys but that does not lessen the shock when something like this happens in any way.
It is very important that Tye’s privacy is respected at this difficult time but he and his family have the full support of the Jockey Club as we await further news about his situation.
The arrival of international horses always signifies that the biggest week of the Hong Kong season is close and we welcomed our first visitors late on Monday when three LONGINES Hong Kong Vase hopes arrived at Sha Tin Quarantine Stables.
Joseph O’Brien’s Irish Derby winner Latrobe was the first HKIR contender to be seen at exercise yesterday morning and he will be joined by more than twenty other international stars as the build-up to HKIR continues.
Making the most of the international appeal of our sport is vital and three amazing fillies have certainly proved that this season.
Winx has been making global headlines for several years now, but Enable has joined her in 2018 and, for me, Almond Eye could be another superstar judged by the way she smashed the track record with a fantastic performance in Sunday’s Japan Cup.
The whole event was great for Japanese racing but it also showed how important HKIR can be as a showcase for future stallions as Almond Eye is a daughter of the dual LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint winner Lord Kanaloa.
Maybe she will follow in her father’s footsteps by coming to Hong Kong in 2019 but HKIR 2018 is almost upon us and the some of the world’s best horses and jockeys will be arriving here in the next few days.
Closer to hand, we welcome Irish rider Oisin Murphy back to Hong Kong for a four-meeting stay this Wednesday when his six rides at Happy valley include King of Mongolia in the St Andrew’s Challenge Quaich (R5) over 2200m.
This seems likely to be run at a slow pace. Romantic Journey and Art Of Raw are the likely leaders with the latter being a course, class and distance winner in April. However, neither horse is going well enough at the moment to recommend in this wide open race.
Happy Rocky is interesting as a horse who has enjoyed past success at Happy Valley over this trip. He looks to be regaining his competitive edge and is a win and place chance coming from the back.
You Have My Word is a last-start winner in this class and has won two of his last four at 1800m. He will be placed midfield and should have every chance. I make him a place chance along with Good Days and Smart Baby.
The eighth race is clearly the best of the night with a solid field of Class 3 sprinters headed by last start winners Little Bird, Good Beauty and Powermax. Blitzing, Fantastic Feeling and Sir Redalot add talent and depth to a great finale. The pace will be good to fast with Little Bird likely to cross from his outside draw to set the pace with Blitzing in close pursuit.
I was very impressed with Little Bird when he won three weeks ago and he may be a horse for the course. He is a win and place chance. Blitzing is training well and is a place chance along with Fantastic Feeling and Good Beauty as they come into the race in excellent form.
Sir Redalot attempts to be the latest John Size horse to return from Conghua and enjoy success. He ran third in his last start at long odds and draws a much more favourable gate this time. Follow Me was an easy winner at Sha Tin on Sunday and Har Har Heart won the Wayfoong Centenary Bowl last Wednesday, both following the same Hong Kong-Conghua pattern.
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