As scripts go, it is difficult to think of a more perfect plot than the one which unfolded during FWD Champions Day at Sha Tin on Sunday (25 April).
It was a fantastic achievement by our employees and the Club to stage an international racing event during COVID, while striking the delicate balance of following our guiding principles of protecting the health and safety of all participants at all times, while also attracting some of Japan’s best horses, who arrived in Hong Kong with an average international classification of almost 118.
The trust and support of the Government is always crucial to our aspirations and it was extremely satisfying to hold a meeting of such quality, especially with the involvement of our Japanese friends. Japan’s status as a racing powerhouse is evidenced by figures which show it typically has more than 8000 horses in active training and an annual foal crop of almost 7500.
By comparison, Hong Kong’s racehorse population is approximately 1300 – and we have no local breeding operation from which to source our stock.
Nevertheless, the FWD Champions meeting was billed as a clash between Hong Kong and Japan and it duly delivered on multiple fronts through the deeds of Wellington (G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize), Golden Sixty (FWD Champions Mile) and Loves Only You (FWD QEII Cup).
While each of those achievements were elite in their own way, the most compelling performance came, fittingly, from Vincent Ho – on a day when Hong Kong racing was on display to the world.
Vincent is making a habit of dominating Hong Kong’s international meetings. He rode four winners on LONGINES HKIR Day, including a G1 on Golden Sixty, in December and produced a treble on Sunday with a personal-best two G1 winners on the same program – Golden Sixty and Loves Only You.
The significance of Vincent’s success stretches far beyond race-day glory, as potent as that was on Sunday when the quality and depth of our racing drove FWD Champions Day record turnover of HK$1.611 billion.
Vincent is a world-class graduate of the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Apprentice Jockeys’ School and, after excelling at both of our showcase international meetings in 2020/21, has emerged as a bona fide world-class jockey.
The LONGINES World’s Best Jockey Rankings reflect as much.
Vincent shares the lead on 48 points with New Zealand’s James McDonald. Joao Moreira is third on 40 points. Ryan Moore, one of the finest riders England has produced, is next on 32. Zac Purton (26) and Karis Teetan (26) follow, ahead of Glen Boss (24) and Yuga Kawada (24) with Luke Ferraris, Tom Marquand and Yuichi Kitamura (all on 18) rounding out the top 11.
By any definition, that is a truly world-class cluster, an accurate reflection of G1 performance – and Vincent’s advance as a rider of the highest quality.
Vincent has ridden five G1 winners during the 2020-21 season, with four coming aboard Golden Sixty and a fifth through Loves Only You. It is the latter success which could enable Vincent to further flourish on the world stage, as he might also do with his mainstay Golden Sixty if Francis Lui opts to campaign abroad.
Loves Only You’s trainer Yoshito Yahagi had the prescience to select Vincent for his mare when COVID-19 made it difficult to bring a Japanese jockey to Hong Kong and, armed with that chance, Vincent proved his wares.
It was an inspired choice on a day when Sha Tin resounded to the excitement of a small but highly-engaged crowd.
Richard Gibson and Alexis Badel must also be congratulated for the effort of Wellington to win a G1 at only his 10th start to confirm his quality and potential. Looking further ahead, Wellington is destined for the LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint in December, where the unbeaten Courier Wonder – who ran a faster time in winning a Class 2 on Sunday than Wellington in the Chairman’s Sprint Prize – might be a serious contender.
In these challenging times, it was heartening to share top-class racing with such passionate customers. The Club remains grateful to everybody who made the day such a success, including the Japanese owners and trainers who trusted our Racing Bubble.
As a Club, we look forward to building that success.
On Wednesday night, the Class 3 Breezy Handicap over 1650 metres is the eighth of nine races at the Happy Valley meeting on the C+3 track. The pace will be moderate with Farshad (Karis Teetan) and Fast Pace (Matthew Chadwick) expected to make the running.
Farshad has won his last two starts at the class, course and distance, and comes into the race in career-best form. The lack of genuine pace in this race will give him a good opportunity to cross over and get a forward position. Fast Pace has tactical speed and will use it from the inside draw. Both horses are place chances as the race tempo will work to their benefit.
Helene Wisdom Star (Joao Moreira) has yet to win from eight starts in Hong Kong but he has showed steady improvement and looks set for a big effort. He will do his running from worse than midfield and will be closer than usual from his better draw. He will be closing strongly over the concluding stages and is a win and place chance.
Exceptional Nice (Alexis Badel) will get a nice run from midfield and is a place chance in his current form. Alpha Hedge (Zac Purton) is also a place chance, returning to his favourite course and distance as a four-time winner over 1650m.
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