Champions Day attracts nine raiders; handling of Chang’s race book ‘banter’ baffles

A record nine overseas raiders are set to converge on Sha Tin for FWD Champions Day later this month, including a five-strong Japanese contingent.

As expected, the Group One QE II Cup (2,000m) is where much of the international interest lies, but Godolphin’s Warren Point wasn’t among the selected runners released by the Jockey Club on Thursday.

Leading local hope Romantic Warrior will still have his hands full, however, with William Haggas’ Dubai Honour chasing more Group One success after winning the Ranvet Stakes and Queen Elizabeth Stakes in Sydney in recent weeks.

Four of Japan’s quintet line up in the 2,000m feature, including 2021 Hong Kong Cup runner-up Hishi Iguazu and the bridesmaid in last year’s edition of the same race, Danon The Kid.

Geraldina, who captured the Group One Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2,200m) on home soil in November, also brings star power from the Land of the Rising Sun, while Zac Purton has committed to partnering last-start Group Two Kinko Sho (2,000m) winner Prognosis.

Rounding out the home team are Money Catcher, Russian Emperor and Tourbillon Diamond.

Golden Sixty is joined by California Spangle, Hong Kong Derby winner Voyage Bubble, Waikuku, Beauty Joy, Glorious Dragon and Healthy Happy in tackling Antipodean raiders Aegon and My Oberon in the Group One Champions Mile.

A Group One winner at home in New Zealand, Aegon was last seen when running ninth behind Mr Brightside in the All-Star Mile at Moonee Valley, while Annabel Neasham’s My Oberon – who began his career under Haggas in the United Kingdom – was a last-start runner-up behind the same horse in the Group One Doncaster Mile at Randwick.

British galloper Flaming Rib brings some intrigue to the Group One Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1,200m) after his second placing in last year’s Group One Commonwealth Cup (1,200m) at Royal Ascot, but he could only manage 11th in last month’s Group One Al Quoz Sprint (1,200m), soundly beaten home by Hong Kong’s Sight Success in fourth and Duke Wai in fifth.

Sight Success and Duke Wai butter up again and are joined by superstar local sprinters Lucky Sweynesse and Wellington, as well as Cordyceps Six, Courier Wonder, Master Eight and Nervous Witness, while Japanese Group Three winner Aguri rounds out the field.

Chang, Fownes ‘good friends’

There’s always something happening in Hong Kong racing and it’s a place that rarely ceases to amaze, but this week surely saw a first – an inquiry held effectively to determine that a couple of the city’s trainers are “good friends”.

After three long years of Covid-19 curveballs – jockeys stood down, Valentine’s Day lunches, benders – officials could have been forgiven for enjoying the relative quiet that has followed the dropping of all pandemic-related restrictions.

That doesn’t seem to be the case for at least one official at the Jockey Club, however, with the most harmless of incidents being elevated to a fully fledged hearing.

After watching his horse Joyful Prosperity run second to Caspar Fownes’ Kaholo Angel in the opening race at Sha Tin last Sunday, Michael Chang Chun-wai threw his race book into his fellow trainer’s back.

The club’s findings certainly made for entertaining reading, with the Hong Kong racing public now able to rest easy in the knowledge that “Mr Fownes and Mr Chang are good friends, the incident was considered by both trainers to be lighthearted banter [and] Mr Fownes took no offence or exception to the incident”.

But while Chang was let off, in an organisation where image is everything, stewards did see the need to tell the 61-year-old that “he should conduct himself in a professional manner at all times to avoid incidents such as this being misrepresented in the public domain and therefore potentially impacting upon the good public image and reputation of racing”.

Whether Chang’s actions were really in jest, the Jockey Club’s handling of such an innocuous incident should never have seen the light of day.

It certainly doesn’t seem the sort of thing Hong Kong’s stewards would normally jump on, but someone’s clearly keeping a close eye on Chang as he chases the handful of wins he needs to avoid a third strike and prolong his career.

Comments