By Declan Schuster
Vincent Ho has endured a difficult past 12 months but the affable homegrown jockey is eager to rebound this season.
Two falls interrupted Ho’s 2023/24 campaign in Hong Kong – a mishap in Japan which fractured his spine and then a second at Sha Tin. Ho finished with a creditable 41 wins, well below the 96 he rode in 2022/23, which netted staggering earnings of HK$160.2 million. It was also the first time since 2017/18 that Ho has dipped below the 50-win mark in a season.
Tribalist seized an early lead that he refused to relinquish and upset favored Charyn in the Group 1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp on Sunday in Paris.
Five-year-old Tribalist, a Godolphin homebred trained by Andre Fabre, won his first Group race while making his 21st start, albeit with only two previous starts at the top level. Tribalist finished third to the Charlie Appleby-trained Godolphin colt Modern Games in the 2022 French 2000 Guineas, while on Sunday, the Appleby-trained Notable Speech chunked home fifth as the second choice in the Moulin.
The Japanese shippers Crown Pride and Remake each won Group 3 races on dirt for the second consecutive year in Seoul, South Korea, on Sunday to earn automatic berths to Breeders’ Cup races at Del Mar on Nov. 2.
Both winners are trained by Koichi Shintana.
Crown Pride won the $1.07 million Korea Cup at 1 1/8 miles to earn a berth in the BC Dirt Mile. Remake won the $941,400 Korea Sprint at six furlongs to secure a berth in the BC Sprint.
Leo Schlink
Defying history and testing track conditions, rising star Ka Ying Rising continued an irrepressible advance through Hong Kong’s sprint ranks with record-breaking success in the HK$3.72 million Class 1 HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup Handicap (1200m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (8 September).
Illuminating gloomy conditions in front of a crowd of 42,556, Ka Ying Rising (135lb) set a weight-carrying record in the season-opening feature to cruise to his sixth victory from eight starts, clocking a slick 1m 08.03s in good-to-yielding conditions.
The 4-year-old colt Charyn couldn’t win a race last year. He has been all but unbeatable during 2024.
Charyn got his season started early by European standards, making his first start this year on March 23. He won that day and has only improved in four races since. And after going winless in seven 2023 outings, Charyn has four victories and a good second from five starts during his 4-year-old campaign.
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).
