Our Hong Kong expert Graham Cunningham takes a look at Wednesday's card at Happy Valley live on Sky Sports Racing.
J-Mac in awe as ageless Warrior excels again
A vintage Rolls Royce and a stylish Bentley were in the fast lane at Sha Tin Sunday as ROMANTIC WARRIOR and STORMY GROVE sealed victory in the Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup and the Hong Kong Classic Cup.
The remarkable Romantic Warrior recorded his 13th G1 success in runaway style, prompting his rider James McDonald to say: “I just cherish the moment every time I hop on him.”
A fourth consecutive QEII Cup success on April 26th is the next target and Danny Shum’s evergreen 2022 Derby hero will seal HK’s Triple Crown if he ends his season by winning the Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup in May.
Bentley in the fast lane as Stormy seals a Derby spot
Stormy Grove will never be mentioned in the same breath as Romantic Warrior, but Frankie Lor’s 21-1 shot punched his ticket to this year’s Derby on March 22nd with a powerful charge from the rear in the second leg of the Classic Series.
True, there were excuses for better fancied rivals, as the winner’s stablemate Numbers went off harder than ideal and 2.5 favourite Little Paradise never looked like recovering from the heavy traffic problems he shrugged off in winning the Classic Mile.
But Stormy Grove and Bentley are clearly thriving at the right time and the 33-year-old Englishman reflected on an “extremely special” success by saying “to do it the way he did was pretty breathtaking.”
Jerry Chau was another to enjoy a Super Sunday, sealing a treble when Emblazon made it five from six in the nightcap, but Karis Teetan remains stuck in Dubai with trainer Chris So and over 20 HKJC staff after Sing Dragon’s defeat on Meydan’s Super Saturday card.
Legend in the making
Now to a midweek card at Happy Valley that looks very tricky, with two Class 5s, four Class 4s and a trio of Class 3s that feature a few old favourites.
The Romantic Warrior silks are back at the city track when Romantic Gladiator – aka Amakhala Warrior when winning at Haydock and York for William Knight last summer - makes his HK debut in the 1.15.
But SPORTS LEGEND and SYMBOL OF STRENGTH are the pair to focus on here.
Sports Legend was impressive at the Valley over Christmas and still looks very fairly treated based on his fine second under Angus Chung in a warm race three weeks ago.
Another bold bid looks assured while Symbol Of Success – third in the 2024 Gimcrack for Adrian Keatley – is 0-8 since joining Frankie Lor but is well worth a saver based on several solid efforts at this level.
’Cause I gotta have Faith
The presence of several fiery front runners – namely Lucky Planet, Matters Most and Metro Power – might just set the 2.15 up for a finisher.
Pegas is a potential improver on his Valley debut, but AMAZING KID was on a roll prior to getting trapped wide on his latest start and John Size’s gelding is worth another chance with Andrea Atzeni unlikely to have any trouble finding cover this time.
And then comes a finale at 2.50 that looks a 4/1 the field job whichever way you slice it.
Corleone has thrived in winning three from four over course and distance this season, while former Dundalk winner Fivefortwo is another who’s bound to attract support.
But WITHALLMYFAITH, SILVERY BREEZE and ANOTHER ZONDA form the File short list.
Withallmyfaith lines up after two excellent efforts under Keith Yeung, the first at Sha Tin and the second when worn down late in a strong race at the Valley last month.
A 1lb rise for that looks very fair, while Silvery Breeze is very dangerous when he gets a true pace to run at and Another Zonda is suggested as a small saver at a big price now he returns to his optimum trip from a slipping handicap mark.
Wednesday’s Valley Views
- 13.15: Sports Legend/Symbol of Strength
- 14.15: Amazing Kid (EW)
- 14.50: Withallmyfaith/Silvery Breeze/Another Zonda
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