Weekend Racing Picks: Group 1 Action In Hong Kong
Best Bet - Beauty Generation (Champions Mile) - Click here to bet with TVG
The April 26 card at Sha Tin in Hong Kong (to be run April 25 in the United States) is one of the premier cards of international racing in the world. Three rich Group 1 races are carded, with the Chairman’s Sprint Prize (G1) and FWD Champions Mile (G1) preceding the FWD QEII Cup (G1).
The Chairman’s Sprint Prize, which goes as the fifth race on a 10-race program, is worth HK$18 million. The brilliant and well regarded Aethero drew post five for the Chairman’s Sprint Prize. The son of Sebring is five for eight lifetime but was very disappointing when last here on April 5 in the Grade 2 Sprint Cup. Zac Purton will ride the popular horse, who is trained by John Moore. He won a barrier trial on April 17, defeating popular Hot King Prawn. That runner, sired by Denman, has already won 10 times, including a race here March 8. Voyage Warrior, who defeated Aethero last out, drew post 10 and seeks to win his sixth race in 11 starts. He will be ridden by rising star Vincent Ho.
The FWD Champions Mile, which is worth HK$20 million, drew nine runners. Two-time defending champion Beauty Generation has been well dawn in post five. He has a whopping 18 wins in 34 starts for Purton and Moore. He was the top-rated miler in 2019 by the World’s Best Horse Rankings, and is a two-time Hong Kong Horse of the Year.
Challengers include Waikuku, who was a Group 1 winner over Beauty Generation in January, taking the Steward’s Cup by a neck. Ka Ying Star is twice Group 1 placed, and has run second to Beauty Generation twice before.
The HK$25 million FWD QEII Cup (G1) drew seven. Exultant seeks to improve on his second-place effort in this spot last year. The six-year-old son of Teofilo won a Group 1 here 11 months ago, then added a Group 2 in November over today’s rival Furore. Exultant most recently won a Group 3 here in January before missing behind Time Warp in the February 16 Hong Kong Gold Cup.
Time Warp drew post four; the son of Archipenko had not won since November, 2018. He was 11th in this race last year. Furore is a five-year-old gelded son of Pierro and took the Hong Kong Derby last season. Eagle Way rounds out the top contenders; the seven-year-old gelding was a Group 1 winner in Australia before coming to Hong Kong, and has since set a Sha Tin track record in 2018.