If ever we needed a reminder of what Hong Kong horseracing has missed the most over the past 18 months, it came last Sunday (7 November) at the G3 Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse meeting at Sha Tin with the presence of more than 15,000 excited attendees.
The Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse fixture is one of the most anticipated events on the racing calendar and there was no shortage of quality racing to engage a stylish, engaged and passionate crowd. The atmosphere generated by the 2,907 Club members and 13,021 members of the public made the occasion even more memorable.
The competitiveness of the racing was to be savoured, too, especially the dead-heat between Trillion Win and Fantastic Way, with Lucky More just a nose away in third – and Czarson a further short head in fourth – highlighting a string of desperately close finishes.
Of the 10 races, five were decided by a neck or less, including the dead-heat, with only a short-head separating Tourbillon Diamond and Ka Ying Star in the Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse. Four other races on the day were decided by three-quarters of a length or less, with two of those contests featuring winning margins of half of a length.
It certainly wasn’t a day for the faint-hearted.
On a program of surprises and upsets, Cordyceps Six enjoyed the widest winning margin of two lengths as Richard Gibson’s young sprinter upstaged Nervous Witness.
With such compelling racing, it was hardly surprising that HK$1,673.5 million – a record for the meeting – was wagered on the day.
With 17 meetings already behind us as we rapidly approach the end of the first quarter of the season, Hong Kong’s established trend of thrilling finishes looks set to continue as we forge deeper into what has already been an engrossing 2021/22 campaign.
With Paul O’Sullivan’s victory with Snowalot on Sunday, all 22 of our trainers have now celebrated success and, after 158 races, the top of the trainers’ championship has rarely looked more congested.
There are five wins separating the top seven trainers in the standings currently, with Frankie Lor leading the way with 16 from Jimmy Ting (15), David Hayes (14) Danny Shum (12), Tony Cruz (11), Francis Lui (11) and Manfred Man (11).
That could soon change, too, because one distinctive pattern to emerge over the last two meetings involves a familiar surge from John Size’s stable. Always inclined to build slowly into the season, the 11-time champion trainer now has seven wins for the term, with his last 15 starters delivering three wins and three seconds, surely evidence the master handler is building ominously again as the season unfolds.
Indeed, he has seven entrants engaged at Happy Valley tonight, and we can expect his representatives to again contend strongly.
The Class 2 High West Handicap is the sixth of nine races with four last-start winners in the nine-horse field over 1200 metres. Sight Success, a smart front-running winner over 1,000 metres, will go forward under Vagner Borges along with Flying Bonus with Jack Wong to set a good pace.
Sparkling Dragon has drawn the rail and will take up the box seat with Derek Leung while Ka Ying Master will use his good gate speed to be in close contention under Jerry Chau. Drops Of God has drawn the outside barrier which will leave Joao Moreira with an early decision on whether to go back or hunt for a midfield run.
Sight Success won the first three races of his career and returned to his winning ways in his last start in this grade. He will once again lead from the rail and is a win and place chance as he is back in top form.
His stablemate Drops Of God moves up in class off his last start win on National Day and has shown both talent and consistency throughout his brief career. This is his first appearance at Happy Valley, which is a bit of a concern, and I make him a place chance.
Winning Method with Matthew Chadwick and last start winner Transcendent with Karis Teetan will both be running on late as place chances.
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