Hong Kong: Russian Emperor should handle longer trip in Queen Mother Memorial Cup

There were no derby wins earlier in the career of Russian Emperor, the Irish-bred colt who starts in Sunday’s Group 3 Queen Mother Memorial Cup at 1 1/2 miles at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong.

It was not because of a lack of trying by his trainers at the time.

Russian Emperor won the Hampton Court Stakes for 3-year-olds at Royal Ascot in England last June and was seventh of 16 in the Group 1 English Derby at Epsom last July, a race delayed a month because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Russian Emperor was trained at the time by Aidan O’Brien, and was transferred to Hong Kong and trainer Doug Whyte last December. For Whyte, Russian Emperor is winless in four starts, including a second by a head to Sky Darci in the $3.09 million Hong Kong Derby for 4-year-olds at 1 1/4 miles at Sha Tin on March 21.

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By Galileo out of the three-time Australian Group 1 winner Atlantic Jewel, Russian Emperor closed from fifth to just miss catching Sky Darci in the Hong Kong Derby. The style of the run suggests Russian Emperor can handle the longer trip in the $450,624 Queen Mother Memorial Cup, the colt’s first stakes appearance against older horses.

Karis Teetan, who was aboard in the Hong Kong Derby, has the mount on Sunday. Russian Emperor is part of a solid field of 12 that includes Panfield, who was third in the Hong Kong Derby.

Trained by Tony Millard, Panfield won a handicap at 1 1/4 miles at Sha Tin on Feb. 10 in his first win in his fourth start in Hong Kong. Panfield won three Group 1 races for 3-year-olds in Chile from August to November of 2019 at distances ranging from 1 1/16 miles to 1 1/2 miles.

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In the Hong Kong Derby, Panfield closed from 10th in the final furlong to be closest to the front at the finish. Chad Schofield had the mount in the Hong Kong Derby, but top jockey Joao Moreira is booked on Panfield in the Queen Mother Memorial Cup, a partnership certain to attract considerable support.

The Queen Mother Memorial Cup is a handicap. Columbus County, who has Group 1 experience this year at Sha Tin and was fourth in a handicap at 1 1/4 miles at the same venue on April 5, is the 133-pound topweight. Russian Emperor will carry 124 pounds, while Panfield has an attractive assignment of 121 pounds.

The Hong Kong program begins at 12:30 a.m. Eastern, on Sunday, or 9:30 p.m. Pacific, on Saturday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.