A final Happy Valley winner wasn’t to be for Douglas Whyte on Wednesday but it was a very special night all the same.
Hong Kong racing fans love to salute their heroes and the scenes near the rail as Douglas took his final walk to the Beer Garden and back after his final ride Valley aboard California Gungho were memorable.
The focus now switches to Douglas’s farewell day at Sha Tin on 10 February. That is something we are all looking forward to but for me there were also several other stories worth reflecting on from Wednesday’s card.
John Size was in fine form with a treble on the night and two of his winners – Country Star and Red Warrior – are now in pole position for the Hong Kong Airlines Million Challenge which concludes on 13 February.
Victor Wong enjoyed the most memorable night of his career so far by riding four winners for four different trainers in a way that reminds everyone that Hong Kong’s apprentice system continues to produce very talented young riders.
And the one story that may have gone unnoticed amid all the other significant headlines this week relates to the continued influence that Conghua is having on Hong Kong racing.
Four of the eight winners on Wednesday – namely The Show, Charity Wings, Red Warrior and Country Star – came down from there and the value of being able to prepare horses in such a different environment is becoming increasingly clear as we build towards our historic Exhibition Raceday on 23 March.
For the 10 races today, the seventh race is the Class 3 Pearce Memorial Challenge Cup over 1200 metres with Speed Vision and Australian newcomer The Abraxas the early leaders with Flying Murty in close contention. The pace will be good.
The odds-on favourite in the race will be Tornado Twist, an improving winner of his most recent races over the course and distance. He will be placed midfield behind vulnerable pace setters and is a win and place chance for what may be his final appearance in Class 3.
Waldorf has not raced at Sha Tin in 10 months but brings solid form from Happy Valley. He has shown good improvement over the past three months and is a different horse now than what we saw last season. He is a place chance.
Diamond Rhyme cuts back in trip from 1400 metres and may be closer to the pace with the addition of blinkers. He trialed with blinkers recently and was a bit keen. He is a place chance along with Lucky Hero, a horse that will be running on from the back.
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