Stakes are high as Hong Kong Racing stars limber up for a new season
Four-time champion Joao Moreira left town before last season gathered pace citing injury and personal issues, while Silvestre de Sousa’s role in a betting incident saw him banished in May just as he seemed all set to cement a place in the top four.
The absence of two dangerous Brazilian foes left Zac Purton to dominate with a record 179 winners at a strike rate of one in four, but Hugh Bowman arrived in November to bolster the star power of the jockeys’ room and Andrea Atzeni jetted in recently hoping to make his mark against the two Aussies, local hero Vincent Ho and the upwardly mobile Lyle Hewitson.
Keagan De Melo has arrived from South Africa seeking fame and fortune against Purton and company, while the Sha Tin trainers’ stand will also have a different feel this year as Aussie import Mark Newnham and Tony Cruz’s former assistant Cody Mo replace Richard Gibson, Tony Millard and Peter Ho.
The first of 88 meetings in the 2023-24 season gets under way at Sha Tin this Sunday and, if some things aren’t predictable, it seems safe to say that the following big names are bound to be in the headlines over the next ten months...
Zac Purton
Yes, his path was smoothed by Joao’s exit but the precision of Purton’s sixth successful title drive was something to behold. Fitness allowing, the king of HK racing could threaten Douglas Whyte’s record of 1,813 HK winners by December 2024. That number drives Purton through the aches and pains any 40-year-old athlete must endure but another title-winning season – along with a few hit-and-run international raids - would leave that final remaining summit well within sight.
Key horses:
Too many to mention but the world’s highest-rated sprinter Lucky Sweynesse clearly heads the list, while the day may come when a ticklish choice must be made between ace miler California Spangle and the up-and-coming Beauty Eternal.
John Size
Don’t look to the veteran Aussie for zingers in the post-race media huddle. Do look to the first man to land twelve HK training titles to blend quality and quantity in a way that precious few rivals can match. Size needs seven more winners to hit the 1500-winner mark. And the addition of more than 20 new recruits including a string of unraced Aussie imports suggests that he’ll add another 70 or so before the season is out.
Key Horses:
The loss of high-class prospect Golden Express in midweek was a major blow but Beauty Eternal and Tuchel are young enough to suggest their best days lie ahead of them, while high-class miler Waikuku has retired and been replaced by his BHA 110-rated half-brother Waipiro, whose Royal Ascot success makes him one of the most interesting imports from Britain in a long while.
Hugh Bowman
Much was expected when the Aussie veteran arrived in mid-November and he didn’t disappoint, driving home 62 winners at a healthy 13 per cent strike rate and delivering champion stayer Russian Emperor with a dramatic late swoop to foil Romantic Warrior in the G1 Champions & Chater Cup. Handicap options are limited when your minimum weight is over 9st but a top three place is on the cards if ‘Hong Kong Hughie’ stays healthy.
Key Horses:
Russian Emperor seldom shines early in the season but Bowman is still building his contacts and will be keen to get further support from career shapers like Size and Frankie Lor as the season progresses.
Jamie Richards
These are early days but the man who tore up the record books in his native New Zealand looks set for a highly significant HK career after a rookie season that saw him start quietly (just one success before the last day of November) and end with a highly promising 35 winners with the promise of much better to come.
Key Horses:
All eyes will be on former sprint king Wellington after his switch from Gibson but Richards has no shortage of younger talent and it be fascinating to see if he can find the key to former Mill Reef winner Wings Of War after his summer move from Millard.
Karis Teetan
The Mauritian Magician suffered a double blow last term, missing a sizeable chunk of the first half of the campaign due to a thyroid condition then losing the ride on Romantic Warrior despite having done little wrong on the 2022 Derby hero. But Teetan knows how to roll with the punches and clawed his way to fourth in the table with 56 winners, including a 600th HK success atop Superb Daddy in June.
Key horses:
Hard to say at this stage but Adefill should do well on the dirt again and the fact that even Purton can’t ride two in one race leaves ample scope for handy pickups, starting with the freewheeling Victor The Winner at Sha Tin on Sunday.
Francis Lui
The golden autumn to Lui’s career continued with a personal-best 67 wins for second behind Size. Having a generational talent like Golden Sixty clearly helps – and the three-time Horse of the Year eclipsed Beauty Generation with a ninth G1 success – but the superstar was ably supported by a team of useful handicappers including the vastly improved Gold Gold Baby. Can Francis back it up now the assessor has had his say? It won’t be easy.
Key horses:
Golden Sixty looks set for a very light campaign – unlikely to be seen before his attempt to win a third HK Mile in December - so the spotlight will be on a group of new recruits and a handful of proven Class 2 and Class 1 performers like Stolz, Packing Treadmill and The Irishman.
Vincent Ho
A first century eluded him but HK’s leading homegrown star set the bar at new levels with a career-high 96 winners including three more G1 scores for the mighty Golden Sixty. However, plans for another short summer stint in Britain had to be shelved after a fall in Japan and, after intense rehab, the latest bulletin suggests Ho will be back in action for the third meeting of the new season.
Key horses:
Three-time Horse of the Year Golden Sixty will be handled with care as he bids to fend off the youngsters in his sixth season but the Ho show has ample support, with boom sprinter Winning Dreamer and up-and-coming stayer Straight Arron high on the list of potential stars.
Caspar Fownes
Any trainer who sends out 51 winners in a HK season is doing plenty right but the charismatic Fownes lost his ‘King of the Valley’ crown to Lui and a few well-regarded youngsters didn’t go on as well as expected. Retaining that Happy Valley title will be high on the agenda and it will be interesting to see whether the 10lb claim of stable apprentice Ellis Wong proves valuable in the early stages of a new campaign.
Key horses:
The talented yet tricky Rocket Spade (five seconds including three by a short head or a nose last season) surely can’t remain a HK maiden much longer. But Straight Arron, kyboshed by a dawdling gallop in the Derby, looks the potential ace in the Cas pack after a string of excellent efforts over middle distances in the final third of the season.
Lyle Hewitson
Patience is paying off for HK’s most promising youngster, who has shrugged off a frustrating first stint and a significant injury to establish himself as a potential future champ. Any title bid will have to wait until the current king abdicates but this 25-year-old South African made a big impression in securing his first 50 last term and another PB looks assured this time around.
Key Horses:
Flaming Rabbit made great strides in the spring. The former Glorious Goodwood winner looks to make a quickfire start on opening day at Sha Tin this Sunday and that gelding’s trainer Douglas Whyte is clearly a staunch Hewitson fan.
Douglas Whyte
Has averaged better than 40 winners a season in his first four years as a trainer and isn’t afraid to ring the changes in the off season to spice things up. Top stayer Russian Emperor proved the standard bearer again last term, landing a big win in Qatar and another G1 at Sha Tin, but speed is still the main currency in HK and therefore…..
Key horses:
Much depends on Whyte’s strong team of useful sprinter/milers. Flaming Rabbit is back with solid claims in Sunday’s Class 2 feature while Carroll Street, Xponential, Dragon’s Luck, Ace One and Cheval Valiant can all collect when things fall right.
Frankie Lor
Size’s former assistant is now firmly established as one of his main rivals and followed his historic first training title in 2022 with a solid 65 winners for third place in the latest season. The admirable Money Catcher was the star of the show, rising from a mark of 95 to 117, and Lor can be relied on to unearth a few more highflyers this season.
Key horses:
Step forward the exciting Dream Winner, who looked a good horse waiting to happen by demolishing his rivals in a Class 4 and two Class 3s in the closing weeks of last term under Vincent. He’s risen from 52 to 85 in short order and is surely heading for three figures, but Lor will have numerous able new recruits including a smart staying one from Ireland in the shape of London Gold Cup winner Bertinelli.
Andrea Atzeni
Time will tell whether HK’s latest Euro import can replicate the success De Sousa enjoyed before his shock departure. Atzeni’s ability isn’t in doubt – as 1200 winners and 16 British G1 wins testify – but he found the going tough during a previous short-term contract in HK and the guile and persistence needed to secure good rides can be alien for those used to the comfort and reliability of a retainer.
Key horses:
Herein lies the problem. A fast start, even in Class 5 and Class 4 company, will open various doors. But HK stable doors seldom stay open for long if you don’t make a mark early.
Tony Cruz
Barring a notable dip, one of HK racing’s favourite sons will saddle his 1500th winner in the second half of the coming season. Last season didn’t deliver quite so much as seemed likely, with 52 winners for fifth place, but California Spangle gave Cruz a tenth HKIR success in the Mile and the support of the powerful Kwok family and their familiar ‘Beauty’ silks should be to the fore as usual.
Key horses:
The Spangle and quirky but capable Beauty Joy will lead the charge again in the top races at up to a mile. Irish import Circuit Stellar (formerly Magnanimous for Joseph O’B) has been a model of consistency in good handicaps, while Kolsai is an intriguing newbie having achieved a BHA mark of 106 after his Diomed Stakes third for Roger Varian.
Danny Shum
Staged a historic Royal Ascot raid with Little Bridge in the 2012 King’s Stand Stakes and is now plotting a major Aussie heist as his exceptional 2000m performer Romantic Warrior prepares for the Cox Plate after a warm-up in the Turnbull. The 63-year-old, who snagged another half century last season, is renowned as a quick starter and will be typically busy on Sunday with runners in nine of the ten races.
Key horses:
Is it too ambitious to hope Romantic Warrior might give Shum a reason to return to Royal Ascot in 2024 if all goes well Down Under? Maybe so but there is ample strength in the supporting cast, with Victor The Winner primed for another crack at Lucky Sweynesse at the weekend. Nordic Dragon thrived to win five from eight in his first season, while Courier Wonder has moved across from the Size barn and Britannia Handicap sixth Royal Cape has joined from Hughie Morrison.
Harry Bentley
A big season beckons for the sole Brit on the HK block. Bentley hasn’t cracked the big races yet but 50 winners and over a hundred placings over the last two years have generated the thick end of £8m in prize money. Patient and popular with local trainers, the 31-year-old will be aiming to broaden his contact base and break into the top half of the table.
Key horses:
Hard to say but support from Douglas Whyte, Caspar Fownes and Francis Lui could play a big part in accelerating this Bentley’s progress.
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