This Saturday’s Sha Tin meeting marks the halfway junction of the 2020/21 racing season and, for me, it is clear that while we continue to be challenged by the pandemic, resilience remains the hallmark of our operations.
The 44th meeting of the season will serve as a timely milestone to ponder the continued progress of Hong Kong racing in the face of COVID-19.
While restrictions on owners and spectators remain in place as we abide by biosecurity protocols, there is enduring hope that eventually we can return to some semblance of normality if COVID-19 cases decline to an acceptable level – and the vaccine is as effective as hoped.
The club will continue to work closely with health officials to ensure the welfare and safety of all participants, both at the racetrack and at our Off Course Betting Branches. Even now, 12 months since our sport was first impacted by the virus, we cannot afford a lapse in our determination to do everything in our powers to be vigilant.
From a pure racing viewpoint, the success of Matthew Poon on Glorious Dragon and Matthew Chadwick’s double at Sha Tin last Sunday was gratifying to see, as Joao Moreira continued to set an incredible standard for sustained excellence.
With a lead of 25 in the jockeys’ championship over Zac Purton, Joao’s decision to return early from last year’s seasonal break to help trainers with the early preparation of horses has paid off. As impressive as Joao has been, it would be still unwise to write off Zac because he has overcome these big deficits previously.
One of the more telling factors to re-emerge last Sunday was the growing significance of Conghua as a world-class training facility continued.
Tony Cruz’s performance is a case in point with four of his seven winners over the past three meetings having used Conghua as a launching pad into the Hong Kong winners’ circle. Tony is now equal third in the trainers’ championship with 33 victories alongside Frankie Lor.
Caspar Fownes (39) and John Size (37) are the only two handlers ahead of Tony and Frankie and have also both produced winners from the Club’s superb training facility at Conghua, where horses are given the chance to retain and build fitness while recharging mentally.
John continues to chip away at Caspar’s lead in the race for the trainers’ title and, as we approach the midway point of the season, the battle for overall supremacy promises to be gripping.
One of the highlights of the Happy Valley meeting tonight is the battle for the DBS x MANULIFE Million Challenge. The series offers HK$1million, with the winner earning HK$650,000 and a trophy for performances in Happy Valley races of Class 3 or above.
Points are awarded to the first four place-getters in each race with 15 points to the winner, six to the runner-up, four for third and three for fourth place.
With the competition is due to finish on 24 February, Grateful Heart – who runs tonight – currently leads with 51 points over Delightful Laos (38) and Scores Of Fun (38), another of this evening’s runners.
The Class 2 Cheung Sha Wan Handicap over 1000 metres is the sixth of nine races and it is a race of enormous importance to Grateful Heart, who has three wins and a second at the city circuit this season. Another win would secure a $1 million High Achievement Bonus for his owners as well as an almost insurmountable lead in the DBS x MANULIFE Million Challenge.
Multimillion (Karis Teetan) will make the running with pace pressure from Winner Supreme (Dylan Mo) from his inside draw. Grateful Heart (Zac Purton) might be able to drop in behind the leading pair and enjoy the run of the race. Hong Kong Bet (Neil Callan) could be next along the fence and should get a nice run from midfield and looks primed for a big effort in his second-up run for the season. I make him a win and place chance.
Explosive Witness (Alexi Badel) will go from lightweight to top weight after a win in the five-runner Group 3 Bauhinia Sprint Trophy one month ago. He is also a contender in the DBS x MANULIFE Challenge 30 points and does his best work on the short track and will be making ground late as a place chance. Larson (Matthew Poon) will be much closer to the pace, possibly in the three-wide lane, and with the gear changes should not be overlooked. He is also in line for a High Achievement Bonus and his last race had plenty of merit. He is a place chance along with in-form Grateful Heart, who has been working very well but is unplaced in two attempts over 1000m at the city circuit.
Scores Of Fun (Alexis Badel) contests race nine on the program, the Lai Chi Kok Handicap.
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