One month into a new season and there is drama aplenty in every corner of the racing world.
On the home front, we have an interesting early contender for the 2021 Four-Year-Old Classic Series after the fast-improving Excellent Proposal advanced to a rating of 98 with another impressive Sunday success at Sha Tin.
The recent strong wagering trend continued with total turnover which was an amazing HK$200 million higher than for the corresponding fixture in 2019. And, although these are early days, another three Conghua winners on Sunday means that our Mainland base has now supplied 27 of 84 winners (equivalent to over 32 per cent) so far this season.
Sunday’s simulcast action came to life early with a tremendous performance from the star Japanese filly Gran Alegria, who produced a devastating burst to overpower her rivals in the G1 Sprinters Stakes at Nakayama.
But events in Paris are always significant on the first weekend in October and this year’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe provided several major stories with Sottsass back to his very best in victory, hot favourite Enable finishing unplaced for the first time in her stellar career and Aidan O’Brien withdrawing four Group 1 winners from Europe’s most famous race because of concerns over a contaminated feed issue.
Our colleagues at France Galop must have felt a tough year was about to get worse once it became clear their biggest weekend was going to be hit by a host of major absentees. Aidan’s sons Joseph and Donnacha were also affected and, having seen how much the O’Brien family and Ryan Moore put into every aspect of preparing star horses to peak on big days, I can only imagine the frustration they must have felt.
It is worth confirming that no Hong Kong trainers use the feed that have caused the problems but, as the European Flat season reaches its last lap, the opportunity for connections of high-class horses to look further afield is clear to see.
Aidan enjoyed two memorable Sha Tin wins with the globetrotting Highland Reel and, having gone close in the Hong Kong Cup with Magic Wand in 2019, his team can be assured of a warm welcome if they target our four LONGINES HKIR races again.
Various factors have contributed to the fact that Hong Kong racing has stood tall during the pandemic and we realise that other jurisdictions haven’t been so fortunate, with the Dubai World Cup meeting called off and Britain’s top races suffering significant prize money cuts.
But, as a result, many leading European horses are still fresh after an interrupted season. Entries for this year’s four HKIR contests close in a little under three weeks and we face various challenges, including convincing jockeys, head lads, grooms and work riders to undergo 14 days of quarantine.
That could be especially demanding for members of Aidan’s team who may have already gone through this once in Australia but, with record prize money of HK$95 million on offer, we remain very optimistic that our Sha Tin showpiece can provide a fitting end to one of the most challenging racing years on record.
Opportunity knocks for several riders at this Wednesday’s Happy Valley meeting with Joao Moreira and Karis Teetan both starting two-meeting suspensions. The featured Class 2 High Island Handicap brings together a full field of smart sprinters in the 1000m finale and the pace will be quick. Larson, Multimillion, Classic Unicorn and Mr Lumieres will all push forward with Allied Agility, Hong Kong Win, Golden Dash and Highland Fortune in close contention.
Highland Fortune finished last season with a flourish as one of the most improved horses over the final two months, including a sharp effort in this grade. He is first up after winning a trial in moderate time and this is his first try over the Valley’s short course. Zac Purton will save ground behind a fast pace and Highland Fortune should be closing the race off well as a win and place chance.
Hong Kong Win is a course and distance specialist and he will benefit from his first-up run last month at Sha Tin, while Classic Unicorn is working very well. I like both horses on form but they are likely to be caught wide from gates 9 and 10 and I prefer Larson and Allied Agility as place chances.
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