The Asian Young Guns Challenge went to Singapore’s Harry Kasim on Saturday at New Zealand’s Te Rapa racecourse. The inaugural contest in 2009 at Flemington was won by Japan’s Kota Fujioka and has since been taken by Derek Leung (Hong Kong), Jordan Mallyon (Australia), Alvin Ng (Hong Kong) and now by Kasim.
Alvin Ng was defending his title but never really got into the picture, picking up minor points three times without threatening to win a race and he trailed home in eighth place.
It may be outside the serious Group One season in Japan at present but racing at Hakodate on Sunday produced a performance from Tokei Halo that should see him soon elevating to the top races.
The four-year-old led throughout in the Group Two Sapporo Kinen over 2,000m, spreadeagling his rivals to win by six lengths with another four to the third placegetter.
It was the third recent Group win and his fourth of 2013 for the son of Gold Halo, who was tried in Group One company as a two-year-old, finishing an excellent fourth in the Asahi Hai Futurity over a mile.
Meanwhile, this week should see a step up in pace at Sha Tin as preparations continue for the first meeting of the new season on September 8.
Most, if not all, of the jockeys and trainers will be back at work by the end of the week and the first barrier trials are scheduled for Wednesday and Friday.
Irish jockey Colm O’Donoghue and South Africa’s Karis Teetan are two first timers already in harness at trackwork, and both have been seen aboard horses from the Danny Shum stable.
O’Donoghue missed riding most of June, July and August with a broken collarbone and will welcome the chance to get his fitness levels up ahead of what will be a tough challenge.
By Nathan Mody
