Early November marks a very significant period with so many notable stories at home and abroad.
American racing’s flagship Breeders’ Cup takes place this weekend at Santa Anita and we are looking forward to Simulcasting the Melbourne Cup from Flemington again on Tuesday.
Joao Moreira clearly has high hopes of winning the race for the first time aboard ante post favourite Constantinople but a high-class race lies in store with various potential LONGINES HKIR contenders set to line up.
And, closer to hand, some very strong HKIR contenders will take another significant step towards our December showpiece in the Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse at Sha Tin on Sunday.
This year marks the 15th time that Sa Sa has sponsored the Ladies’ Purse, a cherished contest first staged in 1846, and this landmark event has attracted almost a million people during that period for one of Hong Kong’s most popular sporting occasions.
As ever, the day will combine high-class sport with fashion, elegance and beauty to provide something to thrill every section of our audience. And the big race – now in its fourth year as an international G3 with a welcome visitor from Macau this year – has developed into a key lead-up to HKIR itself.
Last year’s Ladies’ Purse proved incredibly significant as dual G1 hero Time Warp led all the way under Zac Purton to beat younger brother Glorious Forever with Exultant in fourth.
Glorious Forever and Exultant went on to capture the Hong Kong Cup and the Hong Kong Vase the following month and the key question this year revolves around whether Exultant can return from a long break to concede between 6lb and 20lb to a high-class field featuring four other G1 winners – Southern Legend, Dark Dream, Eagle Way and Time Warp – along with the BMW Hong Kong Derby hero Furore and Macau’s best horse Sacred Capital.
Once again, much could depend on the way the race is run and the obvious pacesetter is Time Warp, who has the speed to lead again from his wide draw. Insayshable and Dark Dream will be handy along with Furore and Exultant, Eagle Way and Ho Ho Khan set to be more patiently ridden.
Time Warp is unpredictable but has dropped in the ratings and is dangerous with a soft lead, which is possible again. Alexis Badel is aboard on his first day back in Hong Kong and it will be fascinating to see how he shapes on his first run since spending two months at Conghua over the summer.
Exultant is versatile tactically and his stamina and toughness make him hard to beat whenever the pace is on. He is at least a place chance despite a big weight as he builds towards another HKIR bid, as is Southern Legend, but Frankie Lor saddles two strong contenders.
Dark Dream and Furore were among the cream of last season’s Classic crop and are open to further improvement this season. Furore had the edge in the Derby and will be well suited by the step up to 1800m after shaping well for a long way behind Beauty Generation over 1400m on his reappearance. He seems ready to peak again after winning a recent trial in good style and looks a win and place chance receiving 20lb from Exultant.
Dark Dream is fresh from a Happy Valley trial success with a good draw and Moreira aboard, while Sacred Capital is tricky to assess but could be a surprise package and is a place chance carrying just 113lb.
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