Our first two Hong Kong fixtures of 2019 have shown just how swiftly things can change from meeting to meeting.
The New Year’s Day card at Sha Tin was dominated by fancied horses, with eight of eleven races won by favourites and the other three won by the second choice in the market.
However, the nature of the Hong Kong handicap system means surprises are generally never too far away and Sunday’s Sha Tin card threw up five winners at double figure odds, with Ka Ying Star staking an early Derby claim at 28-1 in a strong Class 2 and Jolly Banner becoming the longest-priced winner of the season so far at 89-1 in the Bauhinia Sprint Trophy.
Jolly Banner’s success represented another very significant milestone for Matthew Poon – who was partnering his first Hong Kong Group-race winner – and it is also worth noting that nine of the ten winners on Sunday’s card were trained by homegrown handlers.
One of the central aims of racing in Hong Kong has always been to try and create the most appealing and interesting puzzle and, with that in mind, it is fantastic to see the turnout for this Wednesday’s January Cup at Happy Valley.
The Valley’s only Group race of the season was designed to bring some of Hong Kong’s best horses to our spectacular city track and this year’s field is truly exceptional, with four horses rated 120 or higher trying to give lots of weight to some very dangerous rivals.
Time Warp is a dual Hong Kong G1 winner and it will be fascinating to see how he fares back at the venue where he broke the 1800m track record back in the summer of 2017.
Last year’s January Cup winner Eagle Way is back after two excellent runs over longer trips, while high-class miler Southern Legend moves up in distance having won both his starts at the Valley and Northern Superstar won two G1 prizes in South Africa and has shown a lot of promise in his two Hong Kong runs so far.
Time Warp’s presence ensures a good pace for the 1800m Group 3. When Tony Cruz’s gelding broke the track record here he was rated 81 and carried 109lb. Times have changed. He is now rated 127 and carries top weight of 133lb from the outside post.
There is no doubt that he is one of the best horses to ever come to the Valley and he will prove difficult to beat despite the draw and the weights. He should have things his own way making the pace with only token pressure from Southern Legend, Simply Brilliant, Insayshable and Citron Spirit. In these scenarios where Time Warp is allowed to dictate, he runs his best and for that reason I make him a win and place chance.
Eagle Way finished a solid fourth in the Hong Kong Vase, while Gold Mount is another course winner who lines up in good form with place chances coming from the back. Insayshable will get a nice run from the inside post and is likely to be box seated. He is also a place chance at the weights and has good form over course and distance.
Citron Spirit will try to duplicate the Jolly Banner magic for trainer Ricky Yiu and jockey Matthew Poon. The horse is in the best form of his career but has done his best work at Sha Tin over shorter trips.
Comment
