And so we come to the 12th and final G1 contest of the season. The Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup has always held a special place in the Hong Kong racing calendar, not least due to the stars who have won the race on multiple occasions.
River Verdon won the race four years in a row before the race distance was increased to 2400m in 1995, while Viva Pataca won it three times and Indigenous, Oriental Express and Blazing Speed are among those to have won it twice.
Exultant bids to join the dual winners this year in a season which has once again showed the depth and variety of our international G1 contests to great advantage.
Japan enjoyed a historic LONGINES HKIR day, winning three G1 prizes through Glory Vase, Admire Mars and Win Bright, and I am sure I speak for everyone in saying that we look forward to global competition resuming as the world learns how best to deal with coronavirus.
Our champion sprinter Beat The Clock proved himself as good as ever by winning the Hong Kong Sprint and the Centenary Sprint Cup, while Beauty Generation found a serious new rival in Waikuku and the pair went back and forth over 1400m and a mile all season.
Time Warp, Mr Stunning and Southern Legend turned back the clock to win the Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup, the Chairman’s Sprint Prize and the FWD Champions Mile, while Exultant’s win in the FWD QEII Cup on Champions Day last month proved significant on several levels.
Most reports centred around the fact that Exultant’s win made Zac Purton the first rider to land all of the 12 Group 1 races in the Hong Kong calendar at least once and that was clearly a tremendous achievement for our champion jockey.
But Exultant also achieved something historic that day as his QEII Cup win – following previous wins in the Hong Kong Vase, the Hong Kong Gold Cup and last year’s Champions & Chater – made him the first horse ever to put his name on all those four middle distance G1 contests.
Of course, everyone who goes to a bloodstock sale does so with the dream of buying a G1 winner like Pakistan Star, who graduated from the Hong Kong International Sale to win the QEII Cup and the Champions & Chater Cup (where he beat Exultant) in 2018.
Time will tell whether this year’s HKIS produces anything of that calibre but the results were satisfactory and it was interesting to note that Pakistan Star’s Owner Kerm Din purchased the HK$6.5 million top lot, namely a Kodiac gelding from the family of champion sprinter Lucky Nine.
This year’s Champions & Chater Cup is a true test over 2400m with seven horses bred in six different countries lining up to accept the challenge. It is the eighth race on Sunday’s Sha Tin card and the Group 3 Sha Tin Vase is carded as the supporting feature as race four.
The Champions & Chater is often contested on a rain-affected track and this could once again be the case. Exultant won last year’s edition on a good to yielding course and the four-time Group 1 winner will be an odds-on favourite to defend his title and his reputation as champion Hong Kong stayer. In winning the QEII Cup over 2000m, regular rider Zac Purton called on Exultant early to ensure a good tempo and it worked. It was a taxing run, however, and Purton must be more patient this time to see out the trip. Exultant will find a comfortable position close to the pace and is a win and place chance.
Furore has not won since taking out last year’s BMW Hong Kong Derby but there was a lot of merit to his second-place finish in last month’s QEII Cup. He will finish the race off well as a place chance, along with Chefano and Savvy Nine. Time Warp will set the pace but the field will be tightly bunched through honest sectionals.
In the Sha Tin Vase over 1200m, a moderate pace is expected with Hot King Prawn, Thanks Forever and Big Party going forward. Thanks Forever is well drawn to get a gun run and is a win and place chance after a solid effort in the Group 1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize last month. This will be his second start with blinkers and Purton should be able to give him every chance from the box seat.
Hot King Prawn is known for his consistency and is a 10-time winner from 18 starts. He must carry 133 pounds in the handicap conditions but commands respect as a place chance, along with Wishful Thinker and Fat Turtle.
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