Anarchist, a graded stakes winner at Del Mar and Woodbine in 2023, will race outside of North America for the first time in the Group 3 OBS Korea Sprint in Seoul, Korea, this weekend.
The $941,400 Korea Sprint is run on dirt at six furlongs. The winner receives a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar on Nov. 2.
Anarchist was withdrawn because of injury from the BC Sprint at Santa Anita last October after pre-entries were announced.
By Declan Schuster
Pierre Ng has enjoyed a superb start to his training career and, ahead of his third season, the ambitious handler is not one for dwelling on the past as he chases riches both at home and abroad as the start of the 2024/25 campaign quickly approaches.
“I’m very comfortable with what we have done over summer. Hopefully we have a better season than last season,” Ng said.
By Leo Schlink
Preparing to resume a relentless chase of Douglas Whyte’s all-time Hong Kong record for the most wins by a jockey, Zac Purton acknowledges the daunting historical challenge facing Ka Ying Rising in the HK$3.72 million Class 1 HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup Handicap (1200m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (8 September).
Unraced in 12 months, Giga Kick returns to the venue of his greatest win in Friday’s Group 3 Concorde Stakes at five furlongs at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia.
The Concorde Stakes has a purse and position on the calendar that hardly befits a Group 3 race. With a purse of $670,300, the Concorde is an attractive prize, and is a key prep race for the world’s richest sprint – the $13.4 million Everest Stakes at six furlongs at Randwick on Oct. 19.
When the veteran gelding Lion’s Roar finished a close third in the Scone Cup in Australia in June, he narrowly missed a chance to join the list of qualifiers for the $2.01 million Big Dance Stakes in November.
Lion’s Roar has another chance to qualify for the Big Dance when he starts in Thursday’s $167,800 Wyong Cup at 1 5/16 miles at Wyong Racecourse.
The first two finishers of 33 races at tracks throughout the state of New South Wales are eligible for the Big Dance Stakes at a mile, which will be held at Royal Randwick Racecourse on Nov. 5.
By Declan Schuster
It’s easy to see why trainer David Hayes is excited about Ka Ying Rising, the sprinting sensation who was last season crowned Hong Kong Champion Griffin and Most Improved Horse.
Returning in Sunday’s (8 September) HK$3.72 million Class 1 HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup Handicap (1200m) at Sha Tin, the four-year-old begins a campaign that Hayes hopes encompasses a HK$26 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) tilt.
Hong Kong-based riders Vincent Ho and Karis Teetan were unable to notch a win in the third and final legs of the World All-Star Jockeys series at Sapporo Racecourse in Japan today (Sunday, 25 August), with Teetan finishing joint-fifth overall behind eventual winner Joao Moreira, while Ho ranked eighth overall after running a creditable fourth in the final leg of the series.
