Glorious Days to prove Group status
Last week racing fans were treated to Hong Kong's best horse, Ambitious Dragon, winning his fifth Group One, and today it is perhaps the next best galloper being presented by John Size to challenge for his maiden elite win in the Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup (1,400m).
The handicapper's ratings might indicate there is a significant talent gap between Glorious Days (Douglas Whyte) and dual Group One winner Lucky Nine (Brett Prebble) under the level-weight terms of this race, but that is something the handicapper can quickly rectify tomorrow morning because the Size-trained four-year-old undoubtedly has at least as much ability as Caspar Fownes' good sprinter.
What he has not had until today is the Group One stage on which to display that ability, but everything Glorious Days has done in his rapid ascent through the ranks has screamed loud and clear that this is a Group One winner in waiting and the waiting is over this afternoon.
The son of Hussonet still has that piquant blue sky mystery that comes with an unbeaten record, strolling home in his only run in New Zealand and proving best four out of four since arriving at Sha Tin, running strong times and sectionals and in the process toying with smart Class One standard horses like New Vision and Time After Time.
Until beaten, there is no telling where a horse can go, and it was in his nearest proximity to defeat last time out that Glorious Days really showed his mettle.
After smooth, never-going-to-lose efforts prior, Glorious Days never travelled like a winner at any point during the Chinese New Year Cup.
Both Size and Whyte said the wet, shifty going at that meeting was against Glorious Days, and he rolled and lurched through the first 1,000m of the race and had his backers at the short odds ready to tear up their tickets at the top of the straight.
At that point, Glorious Days conceded five lengths to Bullish Champion, who had broken clear at the top of the race.
For a horse who is not travelling comfortably anyway, that trailing margin should have been terminal, but Glorious Days dug down, somehow got balanced sufficiently to give chase and made a powerful 200m surge that took him to victory right on the line.
This wasn't a case of Bullish Champion weakening in the final stages - he was further in front of the rest of the field on the line than he was at any other part of the straight - but a case of Glorious Days really raising a tremendous finish. That argument was confirmed subsequently when Bullish Champion produced much the same performance next time but won clearly when Glorious Days wasn't around to peg him back.
Obviously, if rain appears, a shifty track again could have some significance for the chances of Glorious Days, but given a proper surface and normal luck, he should be able to post Size's first Group One win since Sight Winner's Champions Mile upset three years ago.
Brett Prebble has gone to great lengths to return from injury for Lucky Nine in the feature and the Hong Kong Sprint winner looks a good thing to handle the remainder of the field.
He may have finished a touch closer to Joy And Fun in different circumstances in the Chairman's Sprint Prize, but he was not unlucky in finishing second. The gelding has been very consistent in good races over the past year and the one gate is ideal for a horse who offers his jockey plenty of tactical options, though a sound tempo should not be any question mark.
Lucky Nine has been consistent in good races over the past year and the one gate is ideal for a horse who offers his jockey plenty of tactical options
$2.8m
The prize money Glorious Days has collected for his four consecutive wins
