As the Club prepares to stage its 60th meeting of the 2020/21 season with the Easter Monday fixture at Sha Tin on 5 April, we are grateful that – after such a challenging time with COVID-19 – members of the public are again able to attend the races.
The Club has gained permission from the HKSAR Government to host members of the public, along with Voting Members, Owners, Members and Priority Card holders, who have made advance bookings approved by the Club to attend meetings on 5 April, 8 April, 11 April and 14 April.
All entrants will have to abide by public health measures, including temperature screening before entry, the filling in electronic health declaration forms and the wearing of face masks during the meetings.
This is an important step forward for the Club as we reflect on the emergence of several distinct emerged during the 2020/21 term – with many patterns easily distinguishable for even longer periods.
One of the most enduring, of course, is the continuing arch-rivalry between Joao Moreira and Zac Purton in the battle for supremacy in the jockeys’ championship. While Joao commands an 18-win lead (106-88), it is worth remembering the ‘Magic Man’ led by 30 on 11 February.
Zac has made a habit of erasing large deficits in previous seasons and it will be fascinating to watch this contest play out over the remaining 28 meetings before season’s end in July.
The trainers’ title is similarly engrossing with 11-time champion John Size locked on 54 wins with three-time champion Caspar Fownes – just seven ahead of Danny Shum (47), Frankie Lor (44), Francis Lui (43) and Tony Cruz (39).
The heavyweight clash between John and Caspar threatens to go down to the wire and, with four other stables within touch, this year’s contest could be one of the tightest on record.
One of Caspar’s most bountiful stream of winners is Conghua. Crowned by the effort to produce the first BMW Hong Kong Derby winner out of the complex – Sky Darci – Caspar has had a season’s best 20 winners out of Conghua this season. Frankie has 17, while Francis has 14.
Until the end of March, 101 horses stabled in Conghua immediately before competing in Hong Kong have combined for 118 wins from 554 races at either Sha Tin or Happy Valley in the 2020/21 season.
As the Club prepares to attend to the Australian Easter Yearling Sale in Sydney on 6 and 7 April, it is worth pointing that another telling – and enduring – influence on Hong Kong racing is the collective performance of horses sourced from New Zealand.
As the beneficiaries of rich pastures sustained by volcanic soils, especially in the Waikato region, it is clear New Zealand-bred foals generally have a vital head start in their development and it is because of this that they can tend to out-run their pedigrees, as Sky Darci managed under a brilliant ride from Joao in the BMW Hong Kong Derby.
It is of no surprise to find New Zealand-based Per Incanto has sired more winners – 26 – in Hong Kong than any other stallion this season. He leads from the Australian quartet of Exceed And Excel (15), Deep Field (15), Star Witness (13) and Sebring (13).
Savabeel (11) is also another strong Kiwi influence, while Tavistock (9) and O’Reilly (8) are among the most successful sires in Hong Kong.
Some of these sires will be represented in Sydney next week and undoubtedly their progeny will be the subject of keen demand.
On Sunday we will simulcast the Osaka Hai race meeting from Japan. The Group 1 Osaka Hai is the feature of our Sunday simulcast day and the field includes Contrail, Gran Alegria and Salios, three outstanding horses making their first start of the young season. Both Contrail and Gran Alegria are by Deep Impact, a sire that is a common thread to many of the top Japanese horses over the past several years.
Gran Alegria is stepping out of her comfort zone to try the 2000 metre trip for the first time. She has never been further than a mile but her race record is daunting with three straight Group 1 wins in the Mile Championship, Sprinters Stakes and Yasuda Kinen. She has an electrifying turn of foot and it will be interesting to see if she can produce it over this trip. Her pedigree is one of the best in the sport. Her sire is Deep Impact, the most productive name in Japanese racing, and her dam is the multiple Group 1 winner Tapitsfly. Christophe Lemaire will ride and he notes that speed is an advantage on the Hanshin inner turf course, so she may be closer to the pace. She is a place chance.
Contrail, also by Deep Impact, has won over distances ranging from 1800 to 3000 metres and is best known for becoming the third horse to win the Japanese Triple Crown while still undefeated when he achieved that feat last October. He then finished second to the brilliant Almond Eye in the Japan Cup in his last start. He is sensational and is a win and place chance at the distance under regular rider Yuichi Fukunaga.
Salios should not be underestimated. He is also a multiple Group 1 winner and is at his best from a mile to 2000 metres. He is a place chance.
Moving to Easter Monday at Sha Tin, the Group 2 Chairman’s Trophy is the third race of the day with only six runners but all with a chance over the mile distance. The pace will be slow with Ka Ying Star (Zac Purton) likely to lead by default. Southern Legend (Karis Teetan) will be prominent as usual and the others will be in no particular hurry.
Waikuku (Joao Moreira) is an exceptional horse when in top form and his last-start win in the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup suggests that he is now at his best. He will make his run from midfield and is a win and place chance. Mighty Giant (Neil Callan) gets five pounds from Southern Legend and Waikuku under the terms conditions and is a place chance as an outsider. There was plenty of merit in his last run and he has been freshened at Conghua. Southern Legend also returns from Conghua and his consistency at top level makes him a place chance.
The Group 2 Sprint Cup is the ninth race of the day over 1200 metres and the pace will be good. The field of 13 will all carry 123 pounds in what shapes up as a key race leading into the Group 1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize as part of FWD Champions Day on 25 April.
From outside barriers, Computer Patch (Neil Callan) and Voyage Warrior (Ruan Maia) will go forward with Winning Dreamer (Matthew Poon), Buddies (Blake Shinn) and Beauty Applause (Joao Moreira) in close contention.
Wellington (Alexis Badel) is progressive, winning his last start in fast time and faces a serious test here at equal weights from a wide draw. He will go back in the run and will be closing the race off strongly – he charged from the back of the field last start running last 400m in 21.62s under a light weight of 113 pounds – and is a win and place chance.
Winning Dreamer disappointed last start when resuming from a two and half month break but returns to his best distance of 1200m. He can improve from that effort and should get a perfect trip just behind the early leaders. I make him a place chance. Sky Field (Zac Purton) will go back in the field from his draw and will be making ground late as a place chance. Wishful Thinker (Derek Leung) is also a place chance as an outsider in a very competitive race.
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