Crown's Gift will face his most daunting task yet as he returns to Sha Tin on January 30 to defend his unbeaten interport title in the $2.3 million Hong Kong Macau Trophy following yesterday's announcement of selected runners.
A far cry from his first appearance at Sha Tin in the first interport race last February, when Crown's Gift arrived as Macau's star on the rise with 118 pounds to carry, the Joe Lau-trained gelding will concede weight all around this time against stronger opposition from both Hong Kong and Macau, which underlines the progress the cross-delta concept is making.
The race field includes three former Group One winners in Tony Cruz-trained Raider and Helene Pillaging and also Peter Leyshan-trained Munson.
Munson won the same two-year-old Group One as Helene Pillaging, the VRC Sires Produce Stakes at Flemington, in the following season and in the process relegated David Ferraris' promising Vengeance Of Rain to the unplaced brigade, though he failed to quite live up to that form later in Australia or Macau, where he has won once from four starts. Leyshan also saddles up Lisboa Stand, handy rather than outstanding in Australia but unbeaten in two runs at Taipa, breaking a track record first up then taking Macau's major sprint last weekend.
Crown's Gift, a winner of four of just five starts since winning the first interport last year, will also face solid opposition from Macau representative Rock N Roll Kid, a winner of five from seven there.
Jockey Darryll Holland's appeal against his recent two-day ban and $25,000 fine for careless riding was dismissed by the Jockey Club board of stewards yesterday. Holland is suspended with immediate effect and will return for next Wednesday's Happy Valley meeting.
