Another week draws to a close in this testing time for racing but our bubble remains intact after a midweek meeting at Sha Tin where Karis Teetan stole the show with a treble.
Just 46 Owners with runners were on hand for Wednesday’s All-Weather Track card but we believe it is important to keep the option open for this very important group to attend and everyone is now fully aware of the measures relating to masks, temperature testing, social distancing and health declarations to ensure meetings continue to be held safely and responsibly.
Meanwhile, our stance on prize money provides another clear example of how the Club wants to reward Owners. Certain other major racing nations are also keeping going behind closed doors during the coronavirus crisis and the Club moved swiftly to replace last week’s cancelled Dubai World Cup card with a replacement simulcast for day one of The Championships at Randwick on Saturday.
There were four G1 contests on the card and the highlight came with Nature Strip’s dominant defeat of last year’s Chairman’s Sprint Prize fourth Santa Ana Lane in the T J Smith Stakes for Chris Waller and James McDonald.
A significant turnover decrease caused by recent challenges meant that Racing New South Wales were forced to cut prize money significantly, even in the big races, at short notice. With our major investment in connectivity we are in a more fortunate position as regards turnover holding up and, as such, we have no plans to reduce our prize money.
Owners continue to support Hong Kong racing in numerous vital ways, especially by investing in high-class bloodstock from all over the world. We want to reward that support wherever possible and we remain very optimistic that we can continue with the same level of commitment to world-class racing, including on the issue of prize money.
Sunday’s Sha Tin raceday is intriguing on several levels, not least because it features stars of our past, present and possibly our future. Beauty Generation’s place as one of Hong Kong’s all-time greats is secure whatever happens in the Chairman’s Trophy and he goes into his sixth duel with Waikuku in the Chairman’s Trophy.
Sunday’s race will go a long way to showing if the master miler can still beat the very best, while his powerful young stablemate Aethero looked tremendous in the first half of the season and returns from a break against old rival Hot King Prawn and several other high-class 1200m horses in the Sprint Cup.
Of course, Sunday’s card also acts as a dress rehearsal for three G1 contests worth HK$63 million on FWD Champions Day, though it remains to be seen if we have any international visitors for our big races this year.
Grooms with horses from abroad would have to spend two weeks in quarantine before being cleared, while similar restrictions for visiting trainers and riders add further complexity. A guarded approach seems sensible at this stage but the races remain open and the main thing we have to do is to keep facing challenges so that we race on safely and responsibly to Champions Day and well beyond.
The G2 Chairman’s Trophy over a mile is race three and the G2 Sprint Cup over 1200m is race seven. The track is expected to be somewhere between good and good to yielding with a bit of cut in the ground.
Under the terms of the Chairman’s Trophy, Beauty Generation and Waikuku are assessed with a five pound penalty by virtue of G1 success over the past year and they are clearly the big names in the seven-horse field. Beauty Generation and Ka Ying Star will go forward to set a modest pace with Waikuku in the box seat from his inside draw.
Waikuku has been freshened up after his win in the G1 Stewards’ Cup in January and has earned his place as one of the world’s top milers. He should get a perfect run in what could be a slowly-run race and is a win and place chance.
Beauty Generation also returns after a G1 win, having won the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in February, and is a solid place chance on class alone. Ka Ying Star is also a place chance if he returns to his best with Chad Schofield aboard for the first time.
Aethero makes his much anticipated return in the Sprint Cup. He has been working very well and will help to set a good pace along with Voyage Warrior and Hot King Prawn.
Aethero is versatile and can either lead or relax in close pursuit of the pace. He gets a four-pound break in the weights and is a win and place chance, though it must be noted that he comes back from a long break since December and is running against race-fit rivals like Hot King Prawn and Thanks Forever.
Thanks Forever and Hot King Prawn have each won their only start on a good to yielding track and both did it impressively. They are well equipped to handle a rain affected track and both are prime contenders regardless of the conditions in their current form. They are place chances.
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