New Zealanders get reacquainted in Unification Cup at Sha Tin

The rivalry between Columbus County and Hello Daddy might not be long term, but it’s definitely long distance.

The two horses met twice during 2019 at Te Rapa Racecourse in New Zealand and renew their acquaintance about 5,700 miles away on Wednesday at Sha Tin. The pair starts in the featured eighth race, the Hong Kong Unification Cup, a Class 2 handicap for horses rated 100 to 80 carded for 1,800 meters (about 1 1/8 miles) around one turn on turf.

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Most Wednesday cards in Hong Kong are held nights at Happy Valley, but this week’s racing moves outside the heart of the city and begins at 1 p.m. local time, which is 1 a.m. Eastern. Wagering and live streaming video can be found at DRFBets.com.

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Hello Daddy, called Sponge Bob in New Zealand before being exported to Hong Kong, won the Group 2 Waikato Guineas over 2,000 meters at Te Rapa in February 2019. A head behind him came a horse named Sword in the Stone, who’d be renamed Columbus County by his Hong Kong connections. The two had faced off once before in a maiden race at Te Rapa, with Columbus County finishing second, Hello Daddy third.

The two horses, now 4, have taken different paths in Hong Kong, Hello Daddy struggling until a recent revival of his fortunes, Columbus County producing a steadily rising rating. Hello Daddy started his Hong Kong career rated 83 and comes into Wednesday’s race at just 81, even after a six-point bump following a last-start, wire-to-wire victory at the Class 3 level.

Columbus County is winless from six starts this Hong Kong season but, where Hello Daddy flopped in his first few local starts, Columbus County rallied from 13th to finish fourth in his Hong Kong debut. He’s twice been second in Class 2s at Sha Tin, including one start at Wednesday’s distance, and comes off an encouraging performance in his first start at Happy Valley. There, in a 1,800-meter Class 2 on June 3, he turned in the second-fastest final 400-meter time while finishing a close fourth. The race began at a strong tempo but slowed during the middle stages and compromised Columbus County, who was racing nearer the tail of the field than the head and wound up getting pushed very wide when Zac Purton launched a run midway around the far turn. Purton has the mount again, and Columbus County should benefit moving back to Sha Tin’s much longer homestretch.

Butterfield, a Brazilian-bred 4-year-old, finished second, just in front of Columbus County, in that June 3 race but is drawn somewhat poorly in post 11 on Wednesday. Top-rated at 97 is Savvy Nine, who has made his last three starts in group stakes races. His best recent finish, a second in the Queen Mother Memorial Cup, came in a substantially longer 2,400-meter contest.