Champions Mile - South China Morning Post

Let bygones be bygones and make Champions Mile a Doncaster double

Thu, 27 Feb 2014 12:30:30 +0000

Follow @KemblaCoxy Racing New South Wales’ revamped autumn carnival “The Championships” has been derided by some for its lack of overseas interest – and the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s...

Awesome 'foursome', including cup and mile, looks winning combination

Tue, 07 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000

Once again, a talking point of the QE II Cup-Champions Mile double for visitors was why the four Group races aren't staged on the same day to beef up one of the meetings into a second international fixture like the one in December. Add upgraded versions of the Sprint Cup and a tweaked Queen Mother Memorial Cup and the day could offer the same recipe as December - quality races at 1,200m, 1,600m, 2,000m and 2,400m - and more than one visiting journalist posed the question, why not? One reason the...

Dan Excel finally gets his reward

Sun, 05 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000

One international bid was launched but others thrown into disarray as rugged trier Dan Excel upset the flashy names and the HK$12 million Champions Mile stayed at home once more. The race has never been won by a visitor and nothing changed as John Moore won it for the fifth time in seven years, adding Dan Excel's name to double wins by Able One and Xtension. The gelding had won just one of his 15 starts here and had another 10 first-four finishes, but Dan Excel (Weichong Marwing) had knocked at...

Excel and Dominant answer Moore's prayers

Sun, 05 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000

Hong Kong's leading big money trainer, John Moore resorted to the gods to improve his luck last week and they answered unequivocally yesterday with a winning treble and his fifth Champions Mile in the past seven years as Dan Excel kept the HK$12 million international event at home yet again. "I had the whole stable up at the temple - we beat the drum, we turned the fan, we did the joss sticks, and it looks like it worked," Moore said after Dominant scored back-to-back Queen Mother Memorial Cup...

Whyte set for Glorious success in Champions Mile

Sat, 04 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000

A shower of rain or "the real Packing Whiz" might be the things standing between champion jockey Douglas Whyte and his best Group One season in the HK$12 million Champions Mile today. With the Classic Mile, Stewards' Cup and Derby already in the bag, a fourth Group One victory for the Durban Demon hinges on Glorious Days and that would be his personal peak. "I wasn't aware of it, I don't think about the statistics but it would be a nice result," said Whyte yesterday, who had his mind more on the...

Ambitious Dragon might take part in the Champions Mile

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000

The announcement that two top-liners from the southern hemisphere will be lining up in next month's HK$12 million Champions Mile at Sha Tin was somewhat overshadowed yesterday by trainer Tony Millard's intention to back up dual Horse Of The Year Ambitious Dragon in the race. Three overseas entries have been selected: five-time Group One winner Shoot Out from the barn of Sydney's champion trainer Chris Waller, veteran New Zealander King Mufhasa, with 10 Group Ones to his credit in Australia and...

Vaccine shortage hits Aussie horses for Champions Mile and QE II Cup

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000

Australian participation in the two upcoming international Group One races at Sha Tin is under a cloud due to a shortage of equine influenza vaccine. There are 12 nominations from Australia for the Audemars Piguet QE II Cup on April 28 and the Champions Mile on May 5, although confirmation of such runners usually would not take place until after some major Group One meetings under way at the Sydney autumn racing carnival. It appears the only potential runners at Sha Tin from Australian stables...

International races right up there with other jurisdictions

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000

It seems Jockey Club's job of elevating the quality of its international races has been a task well done and there will be some pride around Happy Valley headquarters that Hong Kong had five races listed in the list of the world's top 50 Group Ones of 2012. All four races from December were included in the list released on Monday night by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities, along with the 2012 Champions Mile. The list is calculated using the international ratings of the...

Glorious Days shaping up to play with big boys

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000

John Size is typically circumspect ahead of saddling up his international aspirants Glorious Days and Fay Fay in Sunday's star-studded Oriental Watch Sha Tin Trophy, 1,600m. Size's task was made easier yesterday when the horse that beat Glorious Days in the Champions Mile last May, John Moore-trained Xtension, was withdrawn with a minor joint concern although the six-year-old is expected to go to the Jockey Club Mile next month. Glorious Days has yet to win at Group One level but his first...

Heroes at home but (mostly) zeroes overseas

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Hong Kong was dominant on home turf with a near clean sweep at Sha Tin's international showpiece and triumphant in what was proclaimed as the strongest ever Champions Mile, but underwhelming away from home with only Little Bridge's Royal Ascot victory to show from a record number of travellers. The Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Races turned into a celebration for the locals, with wins in the three shortest events and a half-length second, the closest a local horse has come to winning,...

Aashiq shows his heart and class

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Paul O'Sullivan's Aashiq may lack something in sheer quality on many of those who chased him home in the Prince Jewellery & Watch Premier Cup yesterday, but when the dust cleared after the final Group event of the season, he was the one runner who had been targeted for that race. Having his first start for more than three months and returning from a second heart irregularity, Aashiq (Mark du Plessis) was allowed the luxury of rolling along alone in front, the circumstances that always make the...

Lucky Nine poised for double celebration

Sat, 02 Jun 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Lucky Nine might be Horse of the Year on what he has done already this season, but the gelding can put the title beyond all doubt by winning today's HK$9.8 million Yasuda Kinen in Tokyo - and trainer Caspar Fownes insists his horse can get even better. Wins in the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint on International Day and the Queen's Silver Jubilee in March have the five-year-old poised to take the top honour, and a win today at Fuchu would cap a remarkable season which has included three trips to...

Horse of the Year honours riding on overseas 'tiebreaker'

Tue, 08 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

With just the Champions & Chater remaining on this season's domestic Group One scene, the Horse of the Year honours look delicately poised and might be decided on foreign soil. In our opinion, Ambitious Dragon is the best horse in action here and was a clear choice for the season's champion in 2010-11, but defeats out of the placings this term in the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Cup, Dubai Duty Free and BMW Champions Mile - his three headline assignments - have served to make his hold on the title...

Moore hails wonder kid McDonald

Sun, 06 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Brilliant young New Zealand jockey James McDonald made the overnight transition from a provincial track in Australia to the Group One BMW Champions Mile at Sha Tin to carry on a flood tide of recent success and land the John Moore-trained Xtension a surprise back-to-back winner of the race. McDonald was one of the stars of the Sydney autumn carnival, landing four winners on a day at Randwick including a Group One, and made his only ride yesterday count as Xtension became only the second horse to...

Extra distance likely to suit Flash Knight

Thu, 03 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Flash Knight was his own worst enemy two starts back when beaten as favourite, but a more settled last-start effort indicates the John Moore-trained four-year-old is ready for the step back up to a mile in the final leg of Sunday's Triple Trio at Sha Tin. Brett Prebble took over from Olivier Doleuze and managed to get Flash Knight to come back to him, taking a hold from gate eight, before he unwound with a withering sprint to miss by a short head. Prebble caught cover going forward three wide...

Top trainers can't see past cityscape for mile

Thu, 03 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

The discussion at yesterday's BMW Champions Mile barrier draw seemed to be centred less around the draw itself than about the time and margin that would be posted by Dubai Duty Free winner Cityscape, with both John Moore and John Size conceding the English horse may simply be too good. No foreign visitor has taken out the Champions Mile in its brief international history, but Moore said: 'After Cityscape's absolute annihilation of everyone in Dubai, he might do the same thing Rulership did to us...

Rulership gives Japan food for thought

Tue, 01 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

As parochial as the Jockey Club can be, there was no mistaking the value of Rulership's QE II Cup win on Sunday for the future direction of the spring international events. Without a win since Hat Trick in December 2001, Japanese representatives for international races in Hong Kong had been declining after being the mainstay of such events not so long ago. Their role has been usurped by the French, not surprisingly given how much success horses from that nation have had recently. Rulership's win...

Glorious trial points to happy Days for feature prospect

Tue, 01 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Glorious Days turned on the afterburners in the closing stages of a trial last week to show he will be a force to be reckoned with in the Champions Mile on Sunday. Since the John Size-trained four-year-old cantered to a four from four local record, he has been defeated twice at Group level, but has lost no admirers. First, Lucky Nine out-fought him over 1,400m before Admiration got the better of him over a mile. Last Friday, Douglas Whyte restrained Glorious Days from the start in his 1,200m...

Clark doubles up to take challenge

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000

The winners are starting to come more freely for Australian rider Tim Clark and he made it four for the week at Happy Valley last night with a double that was enough to see him take Jockey Challenge honours on a countback over Douglas Whyte. In a low-scoring Challenge, 24 points tied the two riders but, with two winners on Kung Hei Fat Choi and Flying Unicorn against Whyte's win and two seconds, Clark carried the day. Class Five cellar dweller Kung Hei Fat Choi opened the scoring in the first...

Champions Mile field 'best ever', boasts Club

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000

The Hong Kong Jockey Club is boasting the best HK$12 million BMW Champions Mile in the history of the event next month as runaway Dubai Duty Free winner Cityscape seeks to break the vice-like local grip on the race. No visitor has won the Champions Mile in its brief international history since 2006, and the home defence on May 6 will be led by Horse Of The Year Ambitious Dragon, past Champions Mile winners Xtension and Able One, triple Group One winning Lucky Nine along with Glorious Days and...

Rispoli sings in the rain

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Italian jockey Umberto Rispoli rode five of the 11 trial winners at Sha Tin yesterday, four of them for Tony Millard, including the last three on the dirt for the South African trainer. Building on the momentum of his recent breakthrough double, Rispoli punched home Manfred Man Ka-leung's Dragimova, before riding True Courage, Masquerader, Danzulu and Uwillbeglorious for Millard. Dragimova was given a rev up by Rispoli to dash from the rear to take his 1,000m turf trial, the three-year-old...

Moore full of Admiration for Prebble

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000

John Moore had the weight of numbers and he got the upset result in the Group Two Chairman's Trophy and the beautifully-bred colt Admiration might have laid down a foundation for what to do when he grows up. With stable jockey Darren Beadman sidelined indefinitely, Moore is calling more often on Brett Prebble for riding duties and he credited the Australian's vigour in the finish as vital in staving off hot favourite Glorious Days by a neck. 'Brett made the difference for sure and he really...

Glorious Days to prove Group status

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000

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...

Popular Mundry returns as a trainer, hoping to steal the Thunder again

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Former top rider Torsten Mundry was a popular character during his successful stints in Hong Kong, and the German looks to be filling out nicely into the newer role as a trainer that has brought him back to Sha Tin. Durban Thunder will be one of the outsiders in the Hong Kong Cup and Mundry (pictured) says he is just hopeful of a surprise result as he has done well to be travelling and competing so soon after starting the new phase of his racing life. 'I've been training for three years now....

Excelebration to provide litmus test for HK's finest

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000

The Jockey Club could not tempt connections of Frankel to be at Sha Tin for the HK$20 million Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Mile on December 11, but Excelebration is just about the next best thing and is scheduled to take part. The Mile goes to HK$20 million in stake money for the first time this year, and though it has been the property of Hong Kong gallopers for the past five runnings they will need to be on their mettle to fend off the renewed foreign challenge. The locals will field a powerful...

Moore in awe of millard's dragon power

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Veteran trainer John Moore rates Ambitious Dragon equal to the best he has seen race in Hong Kong and says only 'bad luck or ill health' will see the reigning Horse of the Year beaten by his domestic rivals. Moore's stable provides three of Ambitious Dragon's opponents in Sunday's Cathay Pacific Jockey Club Mile at Sha Tin - Xtension, Able One and Destined For Glory - but conceded that only misfortune would see Tony Millard's star defeated. Moore, 61, speaks from authority: he is a six-time...

Improving El Grande has a touch of class

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 16:00:00 +0000

There weren't too many eye-catching runs from Wednesday night's card at Happy Valley, but trainer David Hall's El Grande appears to be on the verge of breaking through following another progressive showing in the Black's Link Handicap (1,200m). El Grande showed nothing in his first three runs, but has been racing better since a move to blinkers for Way Leung Ming-wai for a mid-April fifth behind Many Gains over this course and distance, and a fourth last month behind Happy Forever at Sha...

New kid on the block Ng to start his HK career

Thu, 26 May 2011 16:00:00 +0000

The Hong Kong Jockey Club's Licensing Committee yesterday cleared the way for new apprentice Alvin Ng Ka-chun to start his local race riding career on Sunday week at Sha Tin. The 10-pound claimer, allocated to Dennis Yip Chor-hong, began his training Australia with the Grafton-based trainer John Shelton and rode two winners from over 100 rides before work visa issues surfaced for the Hong Kong juniors in training and cut his indentures there short. Ng was subsequently transferred to Lance Noble...

Sight Winner singing in rain

Sat, 21 May 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Reigning champion trainer John Size was not about to ignite any optimism about his chances of holding the title, despite landing a four timer at Sha Tin, and his major concern was that ATV Cup hero Sight Winner had been waved away by Japanese racing officials. A visitor to the Yasuda Kinen in the past two seasons, including a cracking close-up fourth last year, Sight Winner (Olivier Doleuze) again showed this is his time of the year when he outgamed Destined For Glory and Admiration to take the...

California Memory in great form, Cruz insists

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 16:00:00 +0000

The grey with the stunning finishing burst, California Memory, surprised quite a few with his last-to-first win in the Hong Kong Gold Cup last time and, back at the scene of the crime, Tony Cruz is looking for a repeat performance in the QEII Cup on Sunday. The record of Gold Cup winners going into the QEII next time has been poor, with the last to win both races being the Brian Kan Ping-chee-trained Industrialist in 2000, although things have improved in three of the last four years, with the...

Whyte, Leung suspended over Angland fall

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Champion Douglas Whyte was suspended for four meetings yesterday for his part in causing Tye Angland's dramatic fall in February, throwing open the jockey's championship. Chief steward Kim Kelly also hit apprentice Derek Leung Ka-chun with a four-meeting careless riding charge for his role in Angland's fall from Cerise Cherry in the Chinese New Year Cup race in Sha Tin on February 5, which left the Australian with a broken shoulder and leg. Angland has returned to Hong Kong after...

Jaded Prebble rues the ones that got away

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Brett Prebble dominated the Jockey Challenge tally with a haul of 50 points, including a double on Eagle Regiment and Peppermint, but a brace of minor placings took some of the sheen off yesterday's performance and left the Australian ace to ponder what a huge day it might have been. Prebble was at his hard-riding best as he lifted each of his nine runners to the post, but narrow misses on Champions Mile runner-up Lucky Nine, Supreme Winner and Familists frustrated the rider, who clearly had the...

Outstanding tactical abilities give Lucky Nine edge in Champions Mile

Sun, 24 Apr 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Hong Kong's gun four-year-olds and the promise of a soft tempo hold the key to the HK$12 million BMW Champions Mile at Sha Tin today with the Caspar Fownes-trained Lucky Nine perfectly poised to take out the race. The Champions Mile has been the preserve of the local entries in six runnings as an international race and, despite the improved standard of the foreign raiders this year, that promises to play out again in what is an evenly matched field. Tempo is going to decide the outcome, as it...

Visiting entrants may lift global appeal of Mile

Sun, 24 Apr 2011 16:00:00 +0000

The HK$12 million BMW Champions Mile comes to a fork in the road at Sha Tin today which could be vital in lifting its appeal for the rest of the world in the future. Since the race went international in 2005, a total of 15 visitors have turned up to contest the race with only Dao Dao (third to Sight Winner in 2009) able to finish in the first four placings. The race has been totally dominated by local milers and its ongoing appeal for the foreign raiders may hinge on good performances from a...

Beauty Flash faces morning fitness test

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Hong Kong's best miler, Beauty Flash, faces a last-minute fitness test to contest the BMW Champions Mile which is giving trainer Tony Cruz more worries than another outside barrier draw. Cruz said Beauty Flash was fit and well for his Group One assignment, but conceded there was one proviso. 'Beauty Flash is in very good health generally and came back from Dubai well - he's a real professional at the travelling - but I just want him scoped on race morning as a precaution before we make a...

Able One erases Moore's doubts

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Leading big-race trainer John Moore has been warning for weeks that star miler Able One would not be at his best for Monday's HK$12 million BMW Champions Mile but a workout this week left Moore and jockey Darren Beadman having qualms about that original view. Beadman will ride the stable pick of Moore's four runners, Xtension, but told the trainer yesterday he didn't think there was much between the Derby runner-up and dual Champions Mile winner Able One. 'Darren rode Xtension this morning and...

Fownes holds the key to TT with young guns

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Caspar Fownes will play an integral role for Triple Trio punters at Sha Tin on Monday, with top chances Potential and Peppermint in the final two legs of the exotic, which will be conducted over races five to seven of the 11-race BMW Champions Mile card. Brett Prebble has the mount on Peppermint in the last leg and, with the three-year-old stepping up to the mile for the first time after three runs over shorter trips, this event looks an ideal chance for punters to pounce. Prebble rode the horse...

Blow to QEII as Victoire Pisa pulls out

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 16:00:00 +0000

The shock withdrawal of Dubai World Cup winner Victoire Pisa from the Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup overshadowed the barrier draw for the BMW Champions Mile yesterday - as officials mourned the loss of yet another major player in the staying contest which has been decimated by defections. Last Saturday, Irish trainer Aiden O'Brien ruled out a QEII Cup trip for his 126-rated Cape Blanco, who finished fourth to Victoire Pisa in last month's World Cup at Meydan in Dubai. The Group One ...

Cheyne aims to maintain new-found status

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 16:00:00 +0000

South African Greg Cheyne reunites with the flying filly Sweet Sanette tomorrow at Sha Tin in the Group Three Bauhinia Sprint Trophy, hoping to keep intact his new-found status as the 'King Of 1,000m' races. 'You know last season I was dubbed 'King Of the Fillies' because I won on all the female horses during the season and now I'm King Of The 1,000m races - I guess if I keep on racking up these specialist roles, then one day I'll have the set,' said Cheyne, who has won nine of the 59 races over...

Addition of Presvis gives HK strongest Champions Mile yet

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Hong Kong will host the strongest BMW Champions Mile in the history of the HK$12 million Group One race later this month after a change of plans for Dubai Duty Free winner Presvis. The Champions Mile has previously been the least patronised of Hong Kong's six Group One internationals each season but that will change this year, with Presvis headlining a full field of top milers strong enough to relegate former Horse Of The Year Good Ba Ba to the role of first reserve on April 25. Six of the 14...

Green Birdie on another mission to Japan

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Hong Kong top liners will be spread far and wide at the end of next month with three runners in Dubai and Green Birdie confirmed to return to Japan with some unfinished business in the Group One Takamatsunomiya Kinen in Osaka. The Caspar Fownes-trained Green Birdie was unlucky in both the Centaur Stakes and Sprinters Stakes in September-October in Tokyo and did not find his best on his return home at the end of 2010. 'He took a while to come back to himself and his coat didn't come right until a...

Mosse scents chance to make history

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:00:00 +0000

The French connection is the right one to have at this time of year in Hong Kong - just ask Gerald Mosse, the man hoping to pass countryman Olivier Peslier to become the most successful jockey in Hong Kong International Races history. Mosse briefly shared the title with Peslier on six wins last year, after he claimed the Hong Kong Vase aboard Daryakana, but his time at the top was short-lived, and Peslier reclaimed the outright lead on Vision D'Etat in the Hong Kong Cup three hours later. With...

All's well with Hong Kong trio at Kranji

Sat, 08 May 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Hong Kong's three visitors for the KrisFlyer Sprint at Kranji next weekend all reportedly arrived in good order yesterday morning in Singapore. Green Birdie, Joy And Fun and Happy Zero will form a powerful Hong Kong opposition to the local champion Rocket Man in the race Sacred Kingdom took out last year, but some other overseas tilts are now off. John Moore said yesterday he has abandoned plans to take Collection to the Cox Plate later this year and also Melbourne Cup plans for his French...

With Champions Mile in the bag, Able One eyes US$1m bonus in Japan

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Darren Beadman's first win in the Champions Mile aboard Able One signalled the start of a highly unlikely double for trainer John Moore, who pulled off an upset result in both international Group One races, with Viva Pataca claiming the Audemars Piguet QE II Cup 40 minutes later. Never mind the fact that the same two horses had completed the same double in 2007, because the result seemed so unlikely that even Marty McFly and the Doc from the movie Back To The Future would have taken a second...

Lizard's artificial form raises QE II query

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 16:00:00 +0000

The HK$14 million question in tomorrow's Audemars Piguet QE II Cup is whether World Cup runner-up Lizard's Desire can bring his Dubai form to the turf at Sha Tin - and even Mike de Kock's globetrotting assistant Steven Jell cannot altogether answer that. Perhaps it is just his growing maturity as a four-year-old, but Lizard's Desire leapt out of the ground in early 2010, winning two of his four starts in Dubai and went down by the narrowest of margins in the world's richest race, the US$10...

Champions Mile fails to ignite passions, despite rich rewards

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Once again the Asian Mile Challenge leg, the Champions Mile, is looking a disappointment as an international race. Despite changes to the bonuses in the Asian Mile Challenge (AMC) and a recent hike in prize money from HK$8 million to HK$12 million for the Champions Mile, the race still can't attract much foreign interest. With Cat Junior looking unlikely this time, there will be only two visitors for the race in Imbongi and Dao Dao, both of whom also ran last year and thus make up 80 per cent of...

Yiu has Doleuze to thank for forcing the best out of idle Classic Energy

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Trainer Ricky Yiu Poon-fai will surely have a good excuse not be at the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens on the weekend after next, but he used the annual racing rugby night at Happy Valley to land a double and the feature race. Just hours after Yiu saddled up Classic Energy (Olivier Doleuze) and Good Luck Win (Alex Lai Hoi-wing) to win, his world champion sprinter was getting on a plane for Tokyo with stablemate Ultra Fantasy, ahead of their international Group One assignment on the day of the Sevens...

Day of mixed fortunes for red-hot Prebble

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 16:00:00 +0000

The stewards may have taken a fine edge off Brett Prebble's day, but the Australian still made hay while Douglas Whyte was suspended, taking over to win on two of the Durban Demon's rides in the process of adding four more wins to his championship lead. Prebble supporters had a slow start to the card, with a number of favourites going under early, but it was a programme of two halves as Prebble took four of the last six events on Precision Magic, Sacred Kingdom, Shining Victory and Sapelli as he...

Collection needs to stick to pet trip

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:00:00 +0000

We probably didn't learn anything new from the Group One events on the weekend except to be wary of Collection over the 1,600m trip. He didn't look the same horse last season coming after his Derby win to the Champions Mile, and was again disappointing in Sunday's second Group One attempt when Collection had the position and tempo to be running a race but simply didn't. Actually, make that disappointing in all five attempts, bottom line. His first-up run in the Sha Tin Trophy was unflattering,...

Japan trip on cards for old warrior Egyptian Ra

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Top trainer Tony Cruz is eyeing a career-ender with a Group One bang for grand galloper Egyptian Ra after the eight-year-old toughed it out to win the Group Three Chinese Club Challenge Cup (1,400m) yesterday at Sha Tin in familiar style. For Cruz, the day was a happy return to where his second career virtually began, on New Year's Day 14 years ago, as he celebrated with the feature race after notching his 700th career winner as a trainer with Penglai Xianzi (Matthew Chadwick) earlier on the...