What to watch for in the second half of the 2022-23 Hong Kong racing season

We’re officially at the halfway mark of the season – Sunday’s Sha Tin card was meeting 44 of 88 – so let’s take a look at the state of play.

Size again in the box seat

A record 12th title is proving a touch elusive for the legendary John Size, but the 11-time champion again turns for home in front after amassing 35 wins through the first 44 meetings of the 2022-23 campaign.

This time 12 months ago, Size led his one-time assistant trainer Frankie Lor Fu-chuen by four wins – 47-43 – before having to settle for second best for the second consecutive year after Lor stormed home to win 90-84.

While he’s had 12 fewer wins through the first half of this campaign, Size again holds a slender lead over Lor with a 35-33 advantage.

Time isn’t exactly running out for the 68-year-old to break his deadlock with George Moore and become the first handler to 12 titles in the city – he’ll become the first Hong Kong trainer to continue past 70 and could train until he’s 75 – but he’ll be eager to get it in the bag soon all the same.

He hasn’t reigned supreme since the 2018-19 season, with Ricky Yiu Poon-fai, Caspar Fownes and Lor taking out the past three titles after Size won the previous four on the bounce.

As usual, Size looks to have a nice cohort of gallopers capable of reeling off multiple victories between now and the end of the season, and that firepower looks enough to get him across the line, but it’s hard to see him pulling away from the chasing pack in what shapes as one of the more even title races.

On top of Lor, a further five trainers – Francis Lui Kin-wai (30), Tony Cruz (29), Yiu and Danny Shum Chap-shing (28) and Fownes (26) are within nine wins of Size.

Things are also tight at the other end of the table for a couple of trainers whose careers could be on the line, with Peter Ho Leung and Michael Chang Chun-wai facing a third strike and the possibility of retirement should they not meet the Jockey Club’s trainers’ benchmark for a third year running.

As trainers without a Conghua base, Ho and Chang must produce 16 winners to satisfy officials, although only two can come in Class Five.

Both trainers landed wins on Sunday and Ho is on track to meet the requirements with nine victories and only one in the cellar grade, while Chang needs to up his game slightly after seven wins, including two in Class Five.

Purton by how far?

While there won’t be a race for the jockeys’ premiership, the interest will come from just how many wins runaway leader Zac Purton can add to the 90 he already has and what sort of numbers Vincent Ho Chak-yiu and Hugh Bowman can produce.

Purton needs another 81 victories to better Joao Moreira’s single-season Hong Kong record of 170, while Ho is hurtling towards a personal-best campaign after saluting 46 times to sit behind only Purton at halfway.

Ho’s best tally of 67 successes came in the 2019-20 season and it looks only a matter of by how much he’ll better that mark.

Hugh Bowman has been marching up the premiership since arriving in November and moved up another spot into fourth with his victory aboard Aca Power on Sunday.

HK on the world stage again

While the city’s top guns are staying to duke it out at home, Hong Kong looks ready to again have a tangible presence on the world stage after three years of Covid-induced inactivity.

While Kings Shield and Computer Patch were disappointing in Korea in September, the city’s racing fans will be hoping for something worth cheering for in the coming weeks.

Russian Emperor and Senor Toba lead the charge in this weekend’s H.H. The Amir Trophy in Qatar, while speedsters Duke Wai, Sight Success, Sky Field and Super Wealthy – among others – could chase Group One riches in Dubai.

While Golden Sixty and Romantic Warrior’s Gold Cup clash on February 26 and a Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup featuring California Spangle, Lucky Sweynesse and Wellington are the most anticipated clashes in the near future, Hong Kong racing will finally again have the best of both worlds as some connections look further afield than Sha Tin and Happy Valley.

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