By Declan Schuster
My Wish hasn’t shirked a challenge on his road to the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races, in fact, he’s passed them all with flying colours, and Sunday’s (23 November) HK$5.35 million G2 BOCHK Private Wealth Jockey Club Mile (1600m) will be the rising star’s final stepping stone at Sha Tin before he takes aim at the HK$36 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (1600m) on 14 December.
The battle for a place in the LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship sparked to life at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (12 November) when a host of riders landed blows in the fight for a coveted spot in the annual showcase.
It was freelance jockey Matthew Poon who took the biggest step towards the HK$1 million extravaganza as he claimed a double to kick off the evening’s action, moving on to six wins for the season.
Paul Lally:
R1 8-4-1-7
R2 1-7-8-10
R3 4-9-8-2
R4 5-10-1-9
R5 2-7-1-3
R6 1-10-5-9
R7 11-8-1-4
R8 4-10-11-2
R9 1-11-9-5-3
Best Bet R3 N4 Amazing Gaze
Longshot R2 N1 Happy Boys
Play Race8 QQP 4-10-11
Tom Wood:
R1: 8-4-3-1
R2: 8-7-3-1
R3: 4-8-12-10
R5: 7-2-3-1
R6: 9-1-4-10
Everything about Romantic Warrior indicates the champion is in excellent order, and Danny Shum’s star will need to be when he seeks a fourth straight HK$40 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m) win at Sha Tin on 14 December.
Romantic Warrior will return in Sunday week’s (23 November) HK$5.35 million G2 BOCHK Jockey Club Cup (2000m), marking 232 days between races – a period when the 10-time Group 1 winner underwent left fore fetlock surgery following his pioneering and lucrative three-race Middle East campaign.
By Leo Schlink
Brett Crawford celebrated the most significant triumph of a burgeoning Hong Kong, China career when the South African combined with familiar ally Karis Teetan to land the HK$4.2 million G3 Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse Handicap (1800m) with Encountered (115lb) at Sha Tin on Sunday (9 November).
Paul Lally:
R1 1-3-4-8
R2 6-5-3-10
R3 4-12-1-2
R4 8-1-7-10
R5 5-2-1-4
R6 7-1-4-9
R7 13-2-14-9
R8 2-11-9-7
R9 2-5-11-13
R10 13-2-11-8
Best Bet R7 N13 Californiatotality
Longshot R10 N13 Mickley
Play R8 QQP 2-9-11
Tom Wood:
R1: 3-8-1-5
R2: 3-11-5-6
R3: 4-1-14-12
R5: 4-5-2-1
Champion jockey Zac Purton believes the best is yet to come from Cap Ferrat (127lb) as he prepares to ride the Francis Lui-trained galloper for the first time in Sunday’s HK$4.2 million G3 Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse Handicap (1800m) at Sha Tin.
Remarkably, the sole victory on the five-year-old’s 21-race record (including 13 in Australia for trainer Chris Waller) is the 2025 BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m), but Purton thinks it’s just a matter of tapping the Snitzel gelding’s potential.
