The Hong Kong racing season reaches a lofty pinnacle on Sunday with one of the highlights of 2020/21 sporting calendar with two G1 races – the Stewards’ Cup and the Centenary Sprint Cup – as well as the Hong Kong Classic Mile to determine our best four-year-old miler.
The staging of G1 contests and the start of the Hong Kong Four-Year-Old Classic Series is always an auspicious occasion and Sunday’s programme is no exception with a trio of races composed of contrasting dynamics.
Champions have the rare capacity to command centre stage, regardless of the venue or occasion.
All great performers, whether they hail from football, athletics or even the stage, have a mesmeric quality.
In racing, elite performers – jockeys, trainers and horses – possess a similar thrall, casting spells over the sport’s followers.
Golden Sixty occupies the highest rung of our sport. Unfortunately, COVID has robbed Hong Kong’s racing purists of the chance to savour his brilliance from trackside vantage points but he remains a compelling figure.
On Sunday at Sha Tin, Golden Sixty (Vincent Ho) aims to climb higher into the racing stratosphere with a 12th consecutive win, edging closer to Silent Witness’ streak, in the Stewards’ Cup, where he is again a heavy favourite over a mile in the day’s seventh race.
Ka Ying Star is the clear leader and Zac Purton will steady the pace to as slow as he can go.
This is a solid field of eight but Golden Sixty is the clear favourite and it is difficult to see him getting beaten. Waikuku (Joao Moreira) will improve in his second-up run and is a place chance along with in-form Southern Legend (Karis Teetan).
Rise High (Christophe Soumillon) returns from a tendon injury and is the only horse in Hong Kong besides Golden Sixty capable of running over 1600m while still producing fast sectional times of under 22 seconds for the last two furlongs. He may be a gallop short but is a place chance in my view.
The Hong Kong Classic Mile, the eighth race on the programme, is a very competitive affair and will likely run as a good to slow pace. While we have some horses in the field who will need a longer distance and the BMW Hong Kong Derby over 2000m is their ultimate goal, top-class middle-distance horses will be competitive due to their quality when they meet opponents of the same age.
Maximus (Chad Schofield) led mid-race last start and ran a great race for second and so he’s likely to go straight to the front again. Beauty Joy (Neil Callan) missed the start last time in his first Hong Kong run but if he jumps well he can push forward and race prominently to the outside of Maximus. Lucky Patch (Matthew Poon) can sit behind the leaders, as well as Healthy Happy (Ho) and The Summit (Antoine Hamelin), followed by Sky Darci (Moreira) and Enrich Delight (Soumillon).
Sky Darci, Enrich Delight, Lucky Express (Teetan), Tourbillon Diamond (Alexis Badel) and Shadow Hero (Purton) are working very well but Lucky Express and Tourbillon Diamond are likely to be wide, which will influence their chances.
Joao Moreira was hoping for a draw for Sky Darci below 8 and he is in gate 7 and should find a good position in midfield from where he can launch Sky Darci in the straight. He is my first choice for a win and place.
His stable companion Enrich Delight is his main danger and ran very well last time over 1400m when held up late and will improve with the extra distance. Shadow Hero is improving and the extra distance should help him and has with Purton a Champion Jockey on board.
I would not write off Excellent Proposal (Blake Shinn) who ran disappointingly in his last start but he has the potential to run fast sectional coming from the back and is a place chance.
A horse I like a lot is Tourbillon Diamond, who is one of my early favourites for the BMW Hong Kong Derby and while his best form is being third in a G1 over 2400m and been drawn wide he is still a place.
The G1 Centenary Sprint Cup over 1200 metres is the fifth race and the first of the three major races on the day. Computer Patch (Matthew Chadwick) will use his speed from an outside draw to set a good pace along with Amazing Star (Ho), Voyage Warrior (Purton) and Big Party (Teetan).
Wishful Thinker (Soumillon) will do his running from the back and came home with a big closing sectional in the Hong Kong Sprint. He has a better draw, gets Soumillon again and had a nice trial recently to suggest he is ready. I make him a win and place chance to upset the field.
Hot King Prawn (Moreira) disappointed as the favourite in the Hong Kong Sprint last month when he failed to quicken in time to get a clean run in the early part of the straight. He is well drawn and has solid credentials. I make him a place chance in what I see as a very competitive race, along with Computer Patch and Fat Turtle (Badel).
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