Hong Kong International Races

[Viva Pataca]

They ran the Cup Trial (now called the Jockey Club Cup) last Sunday and the John Moore-trained German-bred 4yo gelding Irian won impressively, while stablemate and odds-on favourite Collection was stuck behind horses and finished a close fifth.

The JC Sprint and JC Mile, both Group 2, will be run this weekend and the entries can be found here: http://www.hkjc.com/english/racing/entry.asp

The Jockey Club Sprint looks like a better race on paper that symbolizes a clash between generations of sprinters in Hong Kong. Horses entered include 2-times HK Sprint champion Sacred Kingdom, Singapore's Rocket Man (picture from hkjc.com, who's already galloping at Sha Tin), new stars like Lucky Nine, Tai Sing Yeh, Cerise Cherry and the mare Sweet Sanette. The fan favourite, though, could be 4yo Little Bridge, who was undefeated in 5 career starts and climbed up from class 4 to class 1.

The International Races (Sprint, Mile, Cup and Vase) will be run on Dec12.

edit: Other veterans like Joy And Fun (won Group 3 in Dubai this year), Green Birdie (won Group 1 in Singapore) and Ultra Fantasy (won Group 1 in Japan) were not entered in the JC Sprint.

[Viva Pataca]

John Moore has 4 horses in the Mile and 3 in the Sprint :target:

I like Sacred Kingdom in the Sprint and Fellowship in the Mile for a minor upset!

http://www.hkjc.com/english/racing/StartersR7_ST_20101121_E.asp
Race 7 - THE CATHAY PACIFIC JOCKEY CLUB MILE
Sunday, November 21, 2010, Sha Tin, 16:00
Turf ,"B+2" Course ,1600m

Purse: $3 million HKD (GROUP 2)

No. Form Horse Wt. Jockey Draw Trainer Rtg.
1 2/2/1/1/1/11 ABLE ONE 128 D Beadman 5 J Moore 130
2 8/8/8/4/3/1 GOOD BA BA 128 O Doleuze 3 C W Chang 127
3 4/6/9/2/2/1 FELLOWSHIP 128 Z Purton 6 P O'Sullivan 126
4 3/1/3/6/4/6 VIVA PATACA 128 N Callan 12 J Moore 125
5 1/3/9/2/2/7 THUMBS UP 123 B Doyle 4 C Fownes 127
6 11/11/10/1/4/3 SPECIAL DAYS 123 F Coetzee 7 J Size 123
7 5/4/11/3/5/4 BEAUTY FLASH 123 G Mosse 11 A S Cruz 122
8 13/5/4/6/6/7 SIGHT WINNER 123 D Whyte 1 J Size 118
9 6/5/7/5/7/5 SUNNY KING 123 J Lloyd 8 J Moore 113
10 3/2/1/5/13/2 CHATER WAY 123 W C Marwing 2 D E Ferraris 110
11 10 CARTHAGE 123 Y T Cheng 10 D Cruz 97
12 4/9 SILVER GRECIAN 122 B Prebble 9 J Moore 94

　
http://www.hkjc.com/english/racing/StartersR8_ST_20101121_E.asp　
Race 8 - THE CATHAY PACIFIC JOCKEY CLUB SPRINT
Sunday, November 21, 2010, Sha Tin, 16:35
Turf ,"B+2" Course ,1200m

Purse: $3 million HKD (GROUP 2)

No. Form Horse Wt. Jockey Draw Trainer Rtg.
1 1/1/1/1/2/5 SACRED KINGDOM 128 B Prebble 6 P F Yiu 131
2 ROCKET MAN 128 F Coetzee 8 P B Shaw 126
3 1/1/1/2/1/1 LUCKY NINE 123 G Mosse 12 C Fownes 122
4 10/5/3/4/3/7 ONE WORLD 123 D Beadman 3 J Moore 121
5 5/10/1/6/13/11 DIM SUM 123 O Doleuze 10 J Moore 115
6 13/14/1/9/9/10 OUR LUCKY BABY 123 C W Wong 7 C H Yip 115
7 1/4/1/3/3/1 CERISE CHERRY 123 Y T Cheng 1 D Cruz 111
8 2/5/2/10/1/1 TAI SING YEH 123 D Whyte 2 K L Man 106
9 2/1/2/2/2/3 LET ME FIGHT 123 B Doyle 11 J Moore 103
10 1/1/1/1/1 LITTLE BRIDGE 123 Z Purton 4 C S Shum 103
11 4/4/2/3/1/1 MULTIGLORY 123 W C Marwing 9 A S Cruz 103
12 3/2/2/1/5/1 SWEET SANETTE 119 J Lloyd 5 T K Ng 111

[Viva Pataca]

Story from scmp ...

http://racing.scmp.com/freeservice/news/news20101122.asp
Deserving sprint stars Rocket Man and One World on another planet
Alan Aitken

Singapore champion Rocket Man was overdue an international victory and One World was overdue a win of any kind, and the top sprinters both satisfied expectations with a spine-tingling dead-heat upset result to yesterday's Cathay Pacific Jockey Club Sprint.

The script went out the window for the dress rehearsal to the Hong Kong Sprint on December 12 as Sacred Kingdom failed to turn up in his world champion costume, while Rocket Man (Felix Coetzee) and One World (Darren Beadman) revisited their clash in the Dubai desert last March.

Rocket Man was an unlucky second and One World third in the Golden Shaheen behind American sprinter Kinsale King - a likely rival at Sha Tin next month - and they converged on that form this time to post only the second dead-heat in Hong Kong Group racing history, but the shared result offered both sides hope of a Group One glory to come.

"The way he felt in his work, I would have been very surprised for him to not run well, but I was concerned about racing right-handed for the first time and Rocket Man was very green going into the turn and on the turn itself," said Coetzee. "He took a while to get going when we straightened up, but he really turned it on in the last 200m. Now that this one is over, the positive is that his trackcraft should be better next time."

Trainer Patrick Shaw said Rocket Man had nothing left to come in terms of fitness, but highlighted yesterday's experience as the one area he could gain something. "Coming here, we were worried about racing this way around and we knew the race was no walkover. As for his fitness, he's already right there and my job is to keep him ticking over at the same level."

John Moore, who saddled both runners in the Group One Champions & Chater Cup dead-heat 15 years ago, said One World's trip to Dubai had left a lasting impact on the six-year-old and he had only begun to emerge from it now.

"It took him a long time to re-acclimatise, his chemistry was just out of sync," he said. "But in the last week and a half, Darren said he's been more like his old self. He blew up over the loins today, too, so he will be a little bit fitter for the international."

Runner-up to Sacred Kingdom in the Hong Kong Sprint last year, One World had not won since January 2009, but has contested 15 Group races and failed to earn prize money in only two.

"His owner has been patiently waiting for another win - One World deserved a big one and we'll take a half," Moore said. "He's been long overdue for it, but he's so often had bad draws that have left him with too much to do. He must be competitive in the big one next month, but I do feel we need to draw a gate like he had today."

With Moore's Dim Sum scooting along in the lead - he eventually ran a blinder to hold on for fourth - the pace was solid and should have suited Sacred Kingdom but he loomed to win, then didn't kill off his rivals.

Sacred Kingdom was beaten less than a length, but trainer Ricky Yiu Poon-fai was clearly expecting more. "He ran well but it obviously wasn't his best run. I hope he can improve for the Hong Kong Sprint."

Unbeaten Little Bridge was mastered for the first time in six starts but was brave in third, and excited trainer Danny Shum Chap-shing said he would press on to the international feature. "It is not up to me to decide the invitations but if Little Bridge is invited, he will run."

Sacred Kingdom did not run his best race. He broke bad, and was already giving 4-5 lengths to Rocket Man. But Prebble gave him all chances in the stretch to try to win the race. At 300m he looked good, but his acceleration didn't continue to fire inside 150m and was overtaken by Little Bridge and Dim Sum. His last race at 1000m was sensational after a long break, but he needed this one to prep him for the big race 3 weeks from now at 1200m.

Little Bridge is literally little compared to Sacred Kingdom but this 4yo really has some talent. He is going to the HK Sprint for sure, but honesetly I don't really want him to go to this level so fast. He is a gelding and durability is the key to survival in Hong Kong racing - just look at horses like Able One, Viva Pataca, Good Ba Ba, Green Girdie and Ultra Fantasy - their form and class are well maintained at the highest level domestically at 5, 6, 7 to 8.

Lucky Nine actually ran well, I wouldn't be surprised to see this Dubawi gelding stepping up to a mile. The HK Mile could be an easier race than the HK Sprint, so to speak. On the other hand, he doesn't really HAVE to go to the International races. He is an Irish-bred and will be turning 4 in January. There are just too many prestigious races for 4-year-olds in January to March in Hong Kong that those should be his target this season, and not an attempt in the HK Sprint or Mile. This is my opinion.

[Viva Pataca]

These are the non-domestic horses selected to the races by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, but I don't think this is final yet as I think some of these horses may have already confirmed they won't be going to Hong Kong. The complete press release is here:
http://www.hkjc.com/english/corporate/racing_news_item.asp?in_file=/english/news/2010-11/news_2010112402111.html

Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint
G1 – 1200m – HK$14 million (US$1.797 million)
J J The Jet Plane (Britain)
Rocket Man (Singapore)
Dalghar (France)
Kingsgate Native (Britain)
Ortensia (Australia)


Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Mile
G1 – 1600m – HK$16 million (US$ 2.053 million)
Paco Boy (Britain)
Dream Eater (Britain)
A Shin Forward (Japan)
Beethoven (Ireland)
Royal Bench (France)
Rajsaman (France)
Sahpresa (France)


Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Vase
G1 – 2400m – HK$14 million (US$1.797 million)
Americain (France)
Jaguar Mail (Japan)
Jakkalberry (Italy)
Mastery (UAE)
Winchester (USA)
Redwood (Britain)
Crystal Capella (Britain)
Board Meeting (France)
Scalo (Germany)
Joshua Tree (Ireland)
Indian Days (Britain)


Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Cup
G1 – 2000m – HK$20 million – (US$2.567 million)
Vision D'Etat (France)
Cirrus Des Aigles (France)
Glass Harmonium (Britain)
Sri Putra (Britain)
Summit Surge (Britain)
Planteur (France)
Stacelita (France)
Reggane (France)
Snow Fairy (Britain)

[Viva Pataca]

And a follow-up story at SCMP:

http://racing.scmp.com/freeservice/news/news20101125a.asp



Another mountain left to climb before hoisting the mission accomplished banner is the participation of horses from the United States, with Winchester (Vase) the only one this year, although the Jockey Club was desperately unfortunate to lose top American sprinter Kinsale King and his compatriot, the Cup entry Battle Of Hastings, to injury in just the past two days.


HK Cup preview: http://racing.scmp.com/freeservice/news/news20101125b.asp

http://racing.scmp.com/freeservice/news/images/lead20101125bb.jpg

HK Sprint preview: http://racing.scmp.com/freeservice/news/news20101125c.asp
http://racing.scmp.com/freeservice/news/images/lead20101125cc.jpg
HK Mile preview: http://racing.scmp.com/freeservice/news/news20101125d.asp
http://racing.scmp.com/freeservice/news/images/lead20101125dd.jpg
HK Vase preview: http://racing.scmp.com/freeservice/news/news20101125e.asp
http://racing.scmp.com/freeservice/news/images/lead20101125ee.jpg

[Viva Pataca]

Status of the foreign horses:

Here are the horses that have already arrived in Hong Kong:
Rocket Man, Americain, J J The Jet Plane, Snow Fairy, Ortensia, Sahpresa and A Shin Forward

Here are those who will be arriving in the next few days:
Dec3: Cirrus des Aigles, Joshua Tree, Reggane
Dec4: Mastery, Crystal Capella, Glass Harmonium, Kingsgate Native, Sri Putra, Board Meeting, Planteur, Royal Bench, Rajsaman, Stacelita, Vision D'Etat, Beethoven, Jakkalberry, Dream Eater, Indian Days, Redwood, Paco Boy
Dec5: Winchester, Jaguar Mail

So, we do will see Paco Boy to race one more time. Great!

[drjohnh]

photos of arrivals, hopefully this works

http://www.hkjc.com/english/corporate/racing_news_item.asp?in_file=/english/news/2010-12/news_2010120501019.html

[Cantant]

Scalo (A. Woehler) will not run in the HK Vase due to high temperature in the last days.

[Viva Pataca]

Horse numbers and jockey assignments are now posted. Post position will be drawn later today.

The horse numbering is listed based on weight and then by international rating.

P.S. glad to see Philip Robinson and Piere Strydom's names here - hope they will get some warm welcome from the HK fans.

Race 4 - THE CATHAY PACIFIC HONG KONG VASE
Sunday, December 12, 2010, Sha Tin, 14:00
Turf ,"A" Course ,2400m
Prize Money: $14 million HKD (GROUP 1)

No. Horse Wt. Jockey Draw Trainer
1 AMERICAIN 126 G Mosse 9 de Royer-Dupre
2 VIVA PATACA 126 D Beadman 13 J Moore
3 JAGUAR MAIL 126 C Williams 7 N Hori
4 JAKKALBERRY 126 C Lemaire 12 E Botti
5 MASTERY 126 L Dettori 2 S bin Suroor
6 WINCHESTER 126 O Peslier 3 C Clement
7 INDIAN DAYS 126 A Munro 8 J G Given
8 MR MEDICI 126 H W Lai 14 L Ho
9 REDWOOD 126 M Hills 6 B W Hills
10 KING DANCER 126 D Whyte 4 S Woods
11 MIGHTY HIGH 126 J Lloyd 1 J Moore
12 CRYSTAL CAPELLA 122 R Moore 10 Sir M R Stoute
13 BOARD MEETING 122 A Crastus 11 E Lellouche
14 JOSHUA TREE 121 C O'Donoghue 5 A P O'Brien



Race 5 - THE CATHAY PACIFIC HONG KONG SPRINT
Sunday, December 12, 2010, Sha Tin, 14:40
Turf ,"A" Course ,1200m
Prize Money: $14 million HKD (GROUP 1)

No. Horse Wt. Jockey Draw Trainer
1 SACRED KINGDOM 126 B Prebble 2 P F Yiu
2 J J THE JET PLANE 126 P Strydom 8 M N Houdalakis
3 ROCKET MAN 126 F Coetzee 6 P B Shaw
4 GREEN BIRDIE 126 M Du Plessis 7 C Fownes
5 JOY AND FUN 126 T Angland 13 D Cruz
6 KINGSGATE NATIVE 126 R Moore 1 Sir M R Stoute
7 ULTRA FANTASY 126 H W Lai 4 P F Yiu
8 ONE WORLD 126 J Lloyd 14 J Moore
9 LITTLE BRIDGE 126 Z Purton 3 C S Shum
10 LUCKY NINE 126 G Mosse 12 C Fownes
11 DIM SUM 126 O Doleuze 9 J Moore
12 LET ME FIGHT 126 D Beadman 11 J Moore
13 CERISE CHERRY 126 L Dettori 10 D Cruz
14 ORTENSIA 122 C Williams 5 A W Noonan



Race 7 - THE CATHAY PACIFIC HONG KONG MILE
Sunday, December 12, 2010, Sha Tin, 15:50
Turf ,"A" Course ,1600m
Prize Money: $16 million HKD (GROUP 1)

No. Horse Wt. Jockey Draw Trainer
1 PACO BOY 126 R Moore 13 R Hannon
2 ABLE ONE 126 D Beadman 2 J Moore
3 FELLOWSHIP 126 Z Purton 3 P O'Sullivan
4 BEAUTY FLASH 126 G Mosse 14 A S Cruz
5 DREAM EATER 126 J Fortune 1 A M Balding
6 A SHIN FORWARD 126 Y Iwata 8 M Nishizono
7 GOOD BA BA 126 O Doleuze 7 C W Chang
8 SIGHT WINNER 126 D Whyte 10 J Size
9 THUMBS UP 126 B Doyle 11 C Fownes
10 CHATER WAY 126 W C Marwing 4 D E Ferraris
11 BEETHOVEN 125 C O'Donoghue 5 A P O'Brien
12 ROYAL BENCH 125 O Peslier 12 R Collet
13 RAJSAMAN 125 D Bonilla 6 F Head
14 SAHPRESA 122 C Lemaire 9 Rod Collet



Race 8 - THE CATHAY PACIFIC HONG KONG CUP
Sunday, December 12, 2010, Sha Tin, 16:30
Turf ,"A" Course ,2000m
Prize Money: $20 million HKD (GROUP 1)

No. Horse Wt. Jockey Draw Trainer
1 VISION D'ETAT 126 O Peslier 7 E Libaud
2 COLLECTION 126 D Beadman 5 J Moore
3 CIRRUS DES AIGLES 126 F Blondel 13 Barande-Barbe
4 SUPER SATIN 126 D Whyte 1 C Fownes
5 GLASS HARMONIUM 126 C Williams 4 Sir M R Stoute
6 IRIAN 126 B Prebble 2 J Moore
7 SRI PUTRA 126 P Robinson 3 M A Jarvis
8 PACKING WINNER 126 O Doleuze 6 L Ho
9 SUPER PISTACHIO 126 F Coetzee 9 A S Cruz
10 PLANTEUR 123 L Dettori 10 E Lellouche
11 STACELITA 122 C Lemaire 12 J-C Rouget
12 REGGANE 122 G Mosse 11 de Royer-Dupre
13 SNOW FAIRY 119 R Moore 8 E A L Dunlop

[Viva Pataca]

Post position has been added to the previous post.





More statistics and trends:

Vase (2400m): in 16 runnings of the Vase since its inaugural in 1993, foreign-trained horses have won 15 of them. France had won 7 (and had swept the last 3 run), Britain 7, and Japan 1.
Sprint (1200m): Hong Kong-based horses dominated this race, winning 9 out of 11 of them.
Mile (1600m): locally-trained horses won 6 times since the distance was changed to 1600m in 1999. Japan has also won twice.
Cup (2000m): foreign horses have won the last 4 years, and 9 of the last 11 since the distance was changed to 2000m in 1999
Good Ba Ba, who will be turning 9 next month, is going for an attempt to four-peat in the Mile. Sacred Kingdom and Vision d'Etat are the other defending champions.
Vision d'Etat and Collection, who finished one-two in the Cup last, are back again in the same race.
Fillies and mares who've won in the past: Pride ('06 Cup), Alexander Goldrun ('04 Cup), Borgia ('99 Vase), Vallée Enchantée ('03 Vase), Ouija Board ('05 Vase), Daryakana ('09 Vase), Sunline ('00 Mile).
Gérald Mossé is the only jockey who has won all 4 races ever. Mick Kinane, Frankie Dettori and Olivier Peslier had won 3 of them, with only the HK Sprint missing in their résumé.

[Songofthesword]

Is there any way we can watch this on TV here in the states this year? Will it be on TVG? Hong Kong isn't as accessible as racing in Japan is.

[Viva Pataca]

Is there any way we can watch this on TV here in the states this year? Will it be on TVG? Hong Kong isn't as accessible as racing in Japan is.

Not sure about TVG but I can see it live at HPItv here in Canada.

[Viva Pataca]

Overall very competitive fields in all four races. My heart will still go to 2 of my recent favourite horses - Sacred Kingdom and Viva Pataca, to run a good race. If they win I will be very happy. But my picks will go to other horses:

Vase: Winchester, Jaguar Mail, Redwood
Sprint: Lucky Nine, Little Bridge, Let Me Fight
Mile: Thumbs Up, Sahpresa, Able One
Cup: Packing Winner, Planteur, Vision d'Etat

[drjohnh]

vase...juguar mail
mile ..beauty flash(but cheering for good ba ba)
sprint..rocket man
cup..snow fairy

don't think it will be carried on tv in the U.S . but the HK jockey club puts up the video pretty fast and you can listen to the audio live

[Viva Pataca]

Joshua Tree scratched.

[tachyon]

Vase: Mastery

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ob5kE9kzATE

Sprint: JJ The Jet Plane

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iEyE-odNDQ

Mile: Beauty Flash

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgtEMM4AQzU

Cup: Snow Fairy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfVOjcYnpTc

What a filly!!

[Viva Pataca]

vase...juguar mail
mile ..beauty flash(but cheering for good ba ba)
sprint..rocket man
cup..snow fairy

don't think it will be carried on tv in the U.S . but the HK jockey club puts up the video pretty fast and you can listen to the audio live

Well done Karen. 2 wins, 1 second and 1 fourth in four picks is an excellent result, including the 9/1 Beauty Flash.

After all, a St Leger winner in the Vase, a dual Oaks winner in the Cup and a South African champion in the Sprint were quite obvious I guess :)

Packing Winner almost stole the Cup - he's very close.

[PJMIII]

Some good quotes from Brisnet.

http://www.brisnet.com/cgi-bin/editorial/article.cgi?id=20610

[drjohnh]

Well done Karen. 2 wins, 1 second and 1 fourth in four picks is an excellent result, including the 9/1 Beauty Flash.

After all, a St Leger winner in the Vase, a dual Oaks winner in the Cup and a South African champion in the Sprint were quite obvious I guess :)

Packing Winner almost stole the Cup - he's very close.

yeah, i am a big rocket man fan so had to go with him
looked like everyone in HK had snow fairy, i sure hope she is racing next year. two awesome races in a row for her

[tachyon]

Snow Fairy team to consider Dubai World Cup...

http://www.racingpost.com/news/horse-racing/snow-fairy-team-to-consider-world-cup-bid/798836/

I would rather see a match-up between Snow Fairy and Buena Vista.