I am very pleased to report that we have received news that the New Zealand government have given approval for horses that have spent time at our Conghua base to travel to NZ on the same basis as other horses in the Hong Kong population.
This means that horses that have been in Conghua are no longer required to spend 180 continuous days back in Hong Kong before travelling to NZ and is a welcome development on several levels.
The decision confirms that Conghua has an equine health status which mirrors the high standards we maintain here in Hong Kong and NZ now joins the European Union, the USA, Dubai, Japan and Singapore in recognising (or granting in-principle recognition) to Conghua’s Equine Disease Free Zone for importation of Hong Kong horses.
It represents a significant boost to our racehorse owners and our thanks go out to the New Zealand Ministry of Primary Industries and the HKSAR’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department for their efforts in helping reach a decision that greatly enhances our international horse movements.
Meanwhile, there is no shortage of strong racing storylines as the 2018-19 season approaches its final month.
John Size remains in pole position to win an 11th Hong Kong trainers’ championship and if he does so he will equal the record set by the late George Moore back in the mid 1980’s.
However, John Moore has seven titles of his own and his four timer at Sha Tin on Saturday reduced the Size lead to five and showed that there could still be another twist to this year’s title race plot.
Of course, John’s big day started with a very impressive win by his unbeaten young sprinter Thanks Forever, who powered clear of some useful Class 3 rivals in most impressive fashion to give Zac Purton the one victory he needed to reach 1000 winners in Hong Kong.
Zac has been picking up records on a regular basis of late and the one remaining question relates to whether he can threaten Joao Moreira’s single season total of 170 winners set two years ago.
As things stand, Zac needs 25 more winners to set a new benchmark. In other words, he will probably have to maintain a strike rate of around one win in every three rides during the nine meetings that remain.
On the face of it that looks a tall order, but Zac has had a stellar campaign and the same applies to Vincent Ho.
Vincent doesn’t get anything like so many clear-cut opportunities as Zac – in fact, he has ridden just 25 favourites this season compared to 238 for our champion jockey – but his progress this season has impressed so many people.
It has been noticeable that John Moore has been happy to use Vincent on a fairly regular basis in recent weeks and he helped him achieve a first half century when Private Rocket scored on Saturday.
His main supporter Francis Lui took him to 51 when Golden Sixty stretched his unbeaten run to three in the finale and Vincent will be more than ready for whatever new opportunities come his way when he returns to the UK for another working trip this summer.
Wednesday’s midweek action comes with an All-Weather fixture at Sha Tin and the Class 2 Butterfly Bay Handicap over 1200m will offer a good pace with Ugly Warrior, Big Time Baby, Pick Number One, Speed Vision and Jumbo Luck all vying for the early lead.
Raging Blitzkrieg turns back in trip and his good form was reinforced with a solid trial over the track and distance two weeks ago. He will be close to the pace and goes well on the surface. Despite a record of only one win from 22 starts in Hong Kong, he gets a lot of credit for his consistency and versatility. He is a win and place chance.
Lean Perfection is in top form, gets Purton and is a place chance from midfield. He has a good history of promising barrier trials over the surface, while Ugly Warrior will mix it up from the jump and is a track and distance specialist. I expect an improved performance here and make him a place chance, along with the late-running Fortune Booth.
Ugly Warrior, Pick Number One, Fight Hero and King Genki are all five-time winners on the surface. Pick Number One racked up his five timer over the track and distance last season and returns from a six-month layoff. He was hard ridden to win his last trial and the tempo here might be a bit too fast for his liking.
Fight Hero has switched stables but is not going well enough at the moment. King Genki has yet to land a blow over the sprint distance but did run well over this trip early in the season. He returns from a three month break and his last trial was a positive.
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