Trainer David Hall has been in fine form recently and is currently positioned just two wins shy of matching his best-ever campaign for wins in Hong Kong.
Frankie Lor is hopeful Sword Point can ease the frustrations stemming from a string of minor placings with success in the Class 2 Hong Kong Reunification Cup Handicap (2000m) at Sha Tin on Saturday (1 July) as five-time Hong Kong champion jockey Zac Purton reunites with the talented stayer.
Buoyant after a career-best treble at Sha Tin last Sunday (25 June), Pierre Ng maintained impressive momentum with a double at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (28 June) to forge to 40 wins for the season in an excellent debut campaign.
Beauty Eternal (128lb) crowned an incredible debut season with victory in the HK$3.9 million G3 Premier Cup Handicap (1400m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (25 June), pushing John Size and Zac Purton closer to respective trainer and jockey championships.
BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) runner-up Tuchel (122lb) confirmed the promise of that performance and five wins from his previous 14 starts to capture the HK$3.9 million G3 Premier Plate Handicap (1800m) at Sha Tin this afternoon (Sunday, 25 June).
The final group races of the season saw Zac Purton close in on Joao Moreira’s record of 170 winners as the Australian hoop rode a five-timer. John Size swept the Group 3 features while Pierre Ng trained a treble.
Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes breaks record for World Pool turnover in a single race; Huge Tote pools offer exceptional value with Tote+ Win beating SP in 29 of the 35 races
Revered as elite international performers, Ryan Moore and James McDonald both believe Wellington is the measuring stick in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (1200m) at Royal Ascot on Saturday (24 June) when the champion jockeys continue a compelling rivalry.
Richard Gibson believes Wellington is in peak condition as Hong Kong’s reigning Champion Sprinter chases G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (1200m) glory at Royal Ascot on Saturday (24 June).
Trainer John Size holds a strong hand at Sunday’s (25 June) Sha Tin Group 3 double-header with a trio of talented four-year-olds: Beauty Eternal, Tuchel and Red Lion.
Richard Gibson is optimistic Wellington is well placed to challenge - and potentially surpass - the Royal Ascot feats of the Englishman’s former stable star Gold-Fun when Hong Kong’s reigning Champion Sprinter contests the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (1200m) on Saturday (24 June).
The Prince of Wales’s Stakes is not only the feature of Day Two (Wednesday, 21 June) of Royal Ascot it is being described as the race of the meeting with confident sentiments widely articulated for four of the six contenders, each boasting a brilliant middle-distance profile.
Frankie Lor breathed new life into the trainers’ championship with a double at Sha Tin this afternoon (Sunday, 18 June) as Sauvestre overhauled red-hot favourite Flaming Rabbit to capture the HK$2.64 million Class 2 Lek Yuen Handicap (1400m).
Jack Wong will take up a new role as Senior Riding Instructor of the Racing Talent Training Centre (RTTC) after retiring as a jockey at the end of this season.
A competitive meeting at Happy Valley. The weather held off which created an even playing field. Two debutants caught the eye, winning impressively, as did a one-time 4YO Series hopeful in the feature of the night.
Having bypassed the G3 Lion Rock Trophy Handicap (1600m) at the beginning of this month with Flaming Rabbit, trainer Douglas Whyte has instead opted to prime the Time Test colt for Sunday’s (18 June) Class 2 Lek Yuen Handicap (1400m) at Sha Tin.
Richard Gibson has declared “it’s all systems go” for Wellington to embark on a Royal Ascot tilt next week after Hong Kong’s reigning Champion Sprinter cruised through a 1000m turf trial at Sha Tin on Tuesday morning (13 June).
Extending a brilliant campaign, Vincent Ho forged deeper into uncharted territory with a treble at Sha Tin on Saturday (10 June) to raise hopes of reaching a century of winners in a single season for the first time in his career.
The “City Circuit” played fairly for this meeting with the rail back in the ‘A’ position. Zac Purton rode another treble, while Tony Cruz bookended the card.
Zac Purton continued a relentless march towards Joao Moreira’s record of 170 wins in a single Hong Kong season with a treble at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (7 June), edging ever closer to the Brazilian’s towering mark.
Beauty Eternal confirmed elite potential at Sha Tin on Sunday (4 June) as he strode to a comfortable success in the HK$3.9 million G3 Lion Rock Trophy Handicap (1600m) under jockey Zac Purton for trainer John Size.
Lucky Sweynesse might be given the chance to extend a phenomenal season in search of a ninth victory after matching Beauty Generation’s record for the most wins in a single Hong Kong campaign with a dominant performance in the G3 Sha Tin Vase Handicap (1200m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (4 June).
Zac Purton concedes Lucky Sweynesse faces a significant challenge at Sha Tin on Sunday (4 June) when the champion sprinter tackles the G3 Sha Tin Vase Handicap (1200m) attempting to match Beauty Generation’s record of eight victories in a season.
Cody Mo hopes to convert the benefits of a long and comprehensive grounding into immediate success when Hong Kong’s newest trainer formally starts the latest chapter in his career in the 2023/24 season.
