Warrior Wellington set for Romantic follow up success
RACING enthusiasts from around the globe will have their alarm clocks set on Sunday morning for the FWD Champions Day extravaganza from Sha Tin, which is live on Sky Sports Racing.
Despite the Covid-19 restrictions scuppering any plans for overseas visitors, Hong Kong’s best gallopers will be locking horns in three Group Ones worth a staggering £6.35 million in prize money.
Taking centre stage will be the star of the show, Hong Kong’s legendary Golden Sixty, in the Champions Mile (9.05am), but the supporting cast in the Sprint and QEII Cup also offer mouth-watering treats for viewers.
The Chairman’s Sprint Prize (8.00am) over six furlongs, sees the reappearance of the Richard Gibson-trained, dual Group One winner WELLINGTON, seeking to retain his crown after winning this race last year.
The Australian-bred five-year-old hasn’t been the easiest horse to train, with a series of niggling injuries curtailing his career and testing Gibson’s patience and expertise.
There is no doubt, however, that on his day the son of All Too Hard is the finest sprinter in the land, and judged on his recent exploits, when giving all bar one of his rivals five pounds and outpointing them in the Group Two Sprint Cup earlier in the month, he is going to be very hard to beat.
Lying in wait will be the Caspar Fownes-trained Sky Field, winner of the eventful Longines HK Sprint back in December, who missed the Sprint Cup to keep him fresh for this contest.
Fownes has made no secret that his horse looks in amazing condition, and it would be a big story if the trainer could achieve the 1000-winner milestone in the territory with this son of Deep Field.
The FWD QEII Cup (9.40am) over 10 furlongs looks a match between former Aidan O’Brien-trained Russian Emperor, winner of the Hampton Court Stakes at Royal Ascot back in 2020, and last month’s BMW Hong Kong Derby winner Romantic Warrior.
The Douglas Whyte-trained Russian Emperor caused a shock when spread-eagling his rivals, including Golden Sixty, in the Group One Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup over the course and distance on a soft surface in February.
A reproduction of that form would be good enough to win this contest, but there are lingering doubts about him performing to his best on quicker ground.
Add in the fact that he missed a few days work, after being found lame when subsequently chasing home Golden Sixty earlier this month, and he may be worth opposing with ROMANTIC WARRIOR.
Danny Shum’s highly progressive four-year-old looks to have a lot to do according to the official ratings, but he is a winner of six of his seven starts, including two of the three Classic Series races (HK Classic Mile and HK Derby).
Shum has his stable in a rich vein of form too – recording a treble on Wednesday – and with Romantic Warrior drawn for an ideal journey, he looks capable of beating his main rival.
POINTERS SUNDAY
Wellington 8.00am Sha Tin
Romantic Warrior 9.40am Sha Tin