Good stories are seldom hard to find in Hong Kong racing and this week has been no exception.
Beauty Generation came through a Tuesday turf trial in style ahead of the G1 Stewards’ Cup on 20 January.
The Hong Kong Cup hero Glorious Forever was equally impressive in his trial under Silvestre de Sousa and is set for the G3 Centenary Vase the following week.
A new partner has been revealed for one of our flagship racedays and we are delighted to welcome FWD as title sponsor for the Champions Day, featuring three Group 1 contests and HK$70 million in prize money on Sunday, 28 April.
And Frankie Lor and Alexis Badel stole the show on a big night at Happy Valley on Wednesday as the progressive Simply Brilliant came out on top in a thrilling and dramatic January Cup.
Zac and Silvestre have been dominating headlines in recent weeks, along with Karis Teetan and Joao Moreira, but for me one homegrown rider has been flying under the radar.
Hong Kong born and bred, Vincent Ho is now in his 10th season here and his dedication – along with regular summer trips to France and Britain – is paying dividends.
As we all know, competition among jockeys here is intense. Vincent doesn’t get the same opportunities as some foreign stars – and has had to make way for them in big races on occasion – but he rode a double at Sha Tin last Sunday and followed up with two more winners at the Valley on Wednesday.
Vincent currently sits clear third in the table with 24 winners and on course for his best ever season. It’s interesting to note that only four per cent of his mounts have been favourite, whereas Zac and Joao tend to be on the market leader at least 40 per cent of the time, and his great form shows again how important it is for us to keep investing in homegrown talent.
Saturday’s fifth race is the Class 4 Po Leung Kuk 140th Anniversary Cup over 1400m with Quadruple Double set to make the running from his wide draw along with Hinyuen Swiftness. These two will ensure a moderate pace with Dragon Regiment possibly involved in the early stages.
Quadruple Double has finished second in four of his eight races and comes off a solid second when making the pace in the Griffin Trophy three weeks ago over course and distance. His last race was his best yet and he fought on bravely to the end. He is a place chance.
Chairman Lo steps up in trip from 1200m after a promising debut two weeks ago when he gained ground late to just miss. He will be placed no worse than midfield and is a win and place chance from his good draw with the benefit of the additional furlong.
Joyful Family is down in grade and up in trip, two positives to help his chances. His only race before coming to Hong Kong was a 1400m win in New Zealand and his recent barrier trial confirms that his form is moving in the right direction. He is a place chance coming from the back along with Beauty Energy, who arrived here on a rating of 76 and is now down to 57 after showing improvement on his latest start.
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