Zac Purton’s attempt to add the Cox Plate to his growing list of Group One wins will take some of the attention of Hong Kong racing fans on Saturday but when it comes to deep, high level racing, the Group Twos at Sha Tin on Sunday take some beating.
The Sha Tin Trophy over 1,600m is a who’s who of Hong Kong’s elite gallopers, with the only ones missing John Moore-trained Dan Excel, still in Melbourne awaiting the Flemington carnival, and stablemate Able Friend, who starts his campaign thirty minutes earlier in the Premier Bowl over 1,200m. And John Size-trained Glorious Days is also absent, tackling the Hong Kong Mile first-up as he did winning it in 2013.
Able Friend suffered a minor setback in September so Moore said he is not forward enough for a mile yet, but the Bowl is no easy assignment with yet another Moore-trained star, Sterling City, the likely favourite in a key guide to the Hong Kong Sprint in December.
The Sha Tin Trophy is the highlight of the day and of the season so far, with winners of 23 Group Ones lining up, including the last three Horses Of The Year, Designs On Rome, Military Attack and Ambitious Dragon.
Ambitious Dragon returns from a year out with a tendon injury but has trialled strongly, Military Attack returns with new trainer Caspar Fownes and reunited with Purton.
Gold-Fun is already an impressive winner first-up, however, it is Designs On Rome, a close third to him, who will hold so much attention on Sunday. On his way to the Hong Kong Cup in December and Dubai later on, Designs On Rome wasn’t expected to show up so well at 1,400m when resuming but 1,600m and beyond is where he has shown his quality in the past.
By Nathan Mody
