After the Takarazuka Kinen last week in Japan, things have quietened down around the Asian region at the top level and Hong Kong’s season is drawing to a close completely soon with just three more fixtures left.
There is no Group One in Japan now until the Sprinters Stakes in October and none in Hong Kong until the December internationals, so the coming big event is Singapore’s Derby on July 10.
Friday is the unusual racing day in Hong Kong this week for a public holiday card on the day marking the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China in 1997.
The feature is the Reunification Cup over 2,000m for Class Two horses and it looks a tremendously competitive race with some terrific lightweight chances to challenge the likes of in-form John Moore-trained Basic Trilogy, to be ridden by Joao Moreira.
It was almost by magic that Moreira won the Jockey Challenge on Sunday after winning only one race when he was expected to dominate the day.
He will have been motivated by heavy media criticism of his ride on beaten odds-on favourite Love Shock, which even earned him a severe reprimand from the stewards.
That can’t go down well with the champion rider so beware of him bouncing back to win a handful of races on Friday.
He has rides in every one of the 11 races, including four for John Size which all look likely favourites, especially the promising House Of Fun and Dr Listening, and he has three for Moore’s powerful yard, including the dirt specialists Respect and Sure Peace.
Off the track, Moreira has faced a surprisingly strong challenge in the public vote by phone to decide the season’s Most Popular Jockey. The final results are being guarded tightly before their announcement at a horse of the year function next week but, as the polling time was into its final stages, apprentice Kei Chiong was pressing hard and only 1 per cent behind Moreira in voting.
By Nathan Mody
