With Hong Kong-owned Ocean Park winning the Cox Plate yesterday and The Peak winning race 6 at Shatin today, the Hong Kong Tourist Association better start getting behind horse racing in their marketing efforts. Gawd knows, Hong Kong as a destination is not attracting many except for those across the border while the city also needs to be marketed internally to bona fide Hong Kong Belongers who need something positive to offset a city run into the ground by an ineffective new Chief Executive and overrun and surreptitiously owned by nouveau riche Mainland Chinese who are proving that one can have all the money in the world and still have shit for brains and wear Prada and still act like coolies.
Hong Kong has also become a city with no real USP except for the racetracks in Happy Valley and Shatin as clubs, bars and restaurants open and close faster than a hooker’s legs as greedy landlords are always there with a huge begging bowl and asking for more rent which has seen yoga and fitness centers closing and its owners doing runners.
Getting back to racing- and it was a brilliant day of racing and where some of the big equine guns were making their first appearances for the season, The Peak was given a brilliant ride by Dougie Whyte- vintage Whyte, where, despite drawn barrier 12 of 14 runners over 1200 metres, he bounced the horse after playing up behind the gates before the races, was posted four wide, didn’t panic but waited until he had plunge horse Mr Ginger in his sights and then pressed the accelerator and got it home to deprive Sudden Thunder of victory.
A different kind of Peak.
There have been many stories from Oz of its high profile Malaysian owner not having been happy with his horse’s last run.Hopefully, this win made him a happy old man while watching the race from wherever he might have been. He certainly wasn’t in Hong Kong to lead in The Peak. He might have been with his old mate Bart while his So You Think silks went around on a horse built more like a squeak that a peak or The Peak.
“What if I bang this over his head? What sound will it make?”
Still with the Durban Turban, Tony Cruz and the owners of Helene Fun Star looked like they had swallowed turds after the horse limped into fifth place.
Though given a decent enough ride and backed for a stack, the horse looked flat and was no match for Green Eagle which was given a brilliant ride by the often wayward Weichong Marwing. In the same race, when local superstar Aaron Kwok put in a no show, I gave the horse a miss and will wait until its next start when it tackles 1600 and hopefully draws a better barrier. It was a perfect run for its next race.
Remember to start “Calling With Love” when it runs next.
Meanwhile, Richard Fourie had a great day in the saddle by winning on the very impressive Jolly Victor for Millie Millard and then not rushing things as he did when very new to Hong Kong and taking out the Premier Bowl, his biggest win out here for the young South African on trainer Derek Cruz’s aboard Cerise Cherry. It was a facile win all credit to the lesser-known Cruz brother who is pretty underrated by many. Perhaps he needs to gel his hair and get a new wardrobe. As for Richard Fourie, he is really starting to understand Hong Kong racing and how to ride winners here.
I don’t know what happened to John Moore’s 2 to 1 favourite Captain Sweet and his other four runners, but it never looked happy anytime during the race. Captain Sweet raced more like Captain Sour and might be waiting for another day where it won’t go pear-shaped.
Captain Sour
In the Oriental Watch Shatin Trophy- and what a fine array of timeless beauties, the sponsor unveiled at the track and who are shown below, despite “Millie Millard whining that Ambitious Dragon was “denied” a barrier trial and the horse was only “85% fit”, he is an excellent trainer and his charge made the rest of the runners in the race look as if they were in a different class- a much lower class. It cruised up with such ease and its new rider Zac Purton gave it the perfect ride.
Timeless and all part of another Stylish Shatin Sunday.
Though booked for this race only, after this ride, surely, waiting for Umberto Rispoli to see if he has the time to ride the horse due to his commitments in Europe are now over red rover?
The Zac Attack is riding consistently well and is by far the most popular jockey in Hong Kong and the flavor of the day which I doubt is some fleeting adoration society. As mentioned, it’s all about consistency and consistently riding winners.
Earlier in the day, he found himself another regular ride when the weirdly named Silly Cow didn’t look silly or look like a cow as it won so effortlessly. This is a very nice horse as is another winner for The Zac Attack in the smelly sounding Garlic Boy which was, to me, the Ride Of The Day. The way, the jockey waited for that opening, found it and then have the boy blow the others by accelerating was breathtaking- in a very manly kinda way, of course.
“Baby, you have garlic breath- and you’re not even French.”
Despite a lack of support from some stables, Purton is attracting owners and owners keep trainers having jobs, so watch this incredibly talented rider whose potential was never realized in Oz change this scenario.
As one trainer mentioned last week, if Purton or Tim Clark or Tye Angland were to return to Oz, they would give many of the current A graders a real fight for riding honors- Williams, Boss, Oliver, Bowman, Rodd etc. But why would anyone of them want to leave when the future and present of horse racing is Hong Kong?
Elsewhere, congrats to ten-pound claiming apprentice Dicky “Louie” Lui winning his first race in Hong Kong when his ride, King Of Reason, downed favourite G-One Winning when Dougie Whyte looked to have the race all sewn up. But being sewn up depends on the strength of threads and “Louie” Lui, backed from 20s to 10s, took an inside run and that was it apart from some shocking rides in the race by some of the senior jockeys.
“Awwwww, man, that’s not a very Groovy ride and, whoa, there he goes to McDonald’s again.”
Finally, let me leave you with this video and just mention that the “six foot girl” is absolutely mind-blowingly sexy. Makes me realize what I miss about Oz- girls like her.
The Guru leaves you with this: Peace, love, papadums and chapattis and throw caution to the wind and also pass some wind while at it. Suppression is depression.
The Guru
PS: Just to prove that even Superman cannot help the print medium and with racing writers soon having to “go digital”, STOP THE PRESSES as Clark Kent becomes a- gasp- blogger!
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