With the exception of Ambitious Dragon and Sacred Kingdom, Sunday's Sha Tin meeting probably saw most of the local candidates for the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Races.
The Premier Bowl and Sha Tin Trophy are both notable for the consistent defeats of favourites over the years. No outright favourite has won the Trophy for 21 years and no favourite has won the Bowl in its six runnings as a Group race (and things weren't much better prior to that either.)
The Premier Bowl is a small sample as a Group race but winners have been 34-1, 20-1, 14-1 and 12-1 before Cerise Cherry was second favourite in 2010, so Rich Unicorn at 64-1 didn't exactly overturn the pattern of the race and, like most of the winners, he carried no weight.
But while the handicaps played a part and he will have terms conditions to deal with next, it is interesting to look back at past results with the same in mind and be wary of underestimating Rich Unicorn.
When Absolute Champion won the Bowl in 2006 at 34-1, he carried just 113 pounds but was able to go on to the main event and win brilliantly at level weights in December. Royal Delight won the Bowl with 114 pounds but ran third to Sacred Kingdom in December, while Green Birdie had 120 pounds in his Bowl victory before his neck second on international day.
All three, despite being lightly handicapped in the Bowl, were able to translate that into a good international performance despite an apparent weight disadvantage in the main event.
