Pakistan Star a wild card in rich Queen Elizabeth II Cup

When his mind is focused on running, Pakistan Star has shown signs of brilliance in leading stakes in Hong Kong in the last year. The problem is that Pakistan Star can be well into a race when his mood darkens.

A 5-year-old gelding, Pakistan Star pulled himself up midway through the Grade 2 Chairman’s Trophy at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong on April 8, only to resume running in the latter stages of the race. He finished fourth. The episode led to a mandatory trial workout at a mile on turf April 19.

Pakistan Star finished fifth of 13 without major incident in the workout from the gate and has been cleared by track officials to start in Sunday’s Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Sha Tin.

The stakes could hardly be higher. The Queen Elizabeth II Cup has a purse of approximately $3.059 million and is the second-richest race of the Hong Kong season, behind only the $3.187 million Hong Kong Cup in December.

A German-bred by Shamardal, Pakistan Star has won 3 of 14 starts, all in Hong Kong, for trainer Tony Cruz. England-based jockey Silvestre de Souza is booked to ride Pakistan Star. De Souza rode Pakistan Star to a second by a nose in the 2017 Queen Elizabeth II Cup.

Jockey Tommy Berry rode Pakistan Star in the recent workout. Berry told Hong Kong publicity that Pakistan Star was largely focused on running, except for a brief moment when he shied while leading.

“When the rest of the field came up to him, he went on with it again,” Berry said. “It’s not the end of the world what he did, and it’s very mild compared to what he’s done in the past. He dodged right a little bit and just eased up, but as quick as he eased up, he got going again, so it was a one- or two-second thing.”

As of last weekend, Pakistan Star was an 8-1 chance in the future book with European bookmakers for the Queen Elizabeth II Cup. The favorite is expected to be Ping Hai Star, who won the Hong Kong Derby on March 18 for his fourth consecutive win. The Queen Elizabeth II Cup will be Ping Hai Star’s group stakes debut. He was 7-4 last weekend.

Time Warp, the winner of the Group 1 Hong Kong Cup in December, was a 9-4 chance with bookmakers and would be favored were it not for a disappointing 10th in the Chairman’s Trophy earlier this month.

Sunday’s program at Sha Tin has two additional Group 1 races – the $2.294 million Champions Mile and the $2.039 million Chairman’s Sprint Prize at six furlongs.

Seasons Bloom, a 5-year-old Australian-bred gelding, will be favored in the Champions Mile, having won the Group 1 Stewards’ Cup at a mile in January. Beauty Generation, who won the Group 1 Hong Kong Mile last December, was fifth in the Chairman’s Trophy and is expected to be the pacesetter in the Champions Mile.

Mr Stunning was second in the 2017 Chairman’s Sprint Prize and is the clear favorite for this year’s race. Mr Stunning won the Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint in December and has been second by a nose in two starts this year.

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