It invariably takes a good one to win the HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup, the main feature on the first day of the new Hong Kong season, and a field of 11 typically smart sprinters could line up for the 1200m test this Sunday, 14 September.
Recent winners of the Class 1 contest include Champion Sprinter Lucky Nine (2010), as well as the elite competitors Joy And Fun (2011) and Cerise Cherry (2013), and trainer Tony Cruz is hoping one of his four smart candidates can join the honour roll this time. Among the quartet, Peniaphobia (113lbs) is perhaps the horse with the most exciting profile.
The three-year-old has raced solely at around 1000m, both in the UK and Hong Kong, and last season the Dandy Man gelding made six starts for three wins, most recently a neck verdict over Bundle Of Joy in late June.
“Peniaphobia’s going well and this race on Sunday will tell us how he handles the 1200m,” said Cruz of his charge, who won three from four as a juvenile in Britain. “He’s a real sprinter and after this I’ll probably run him on 1 October in the HKG3 National Day Cup over 1000m.”
The trainer will also saddle the five-time course and distance winner Bullish Friend (120lbs), as well as El Zonda (113lbs) and Best Eleven (113lbs).
Divine Ten (121lbs) is another potential star sprinter using Sunday’s race as his first port of call in a campaign that trainer Me Tsui is hoping will include some big-race assignments.
Among the proven stalwarts, Helene Spirit, winner of the HKG3 Prince Jewellery & Watch Premier Cup (1400m) under 133lbs in June, will again attempt to defy top-weight; the John Moore-trained Charles The Great (131lbs), winner of the G2 BOCHK Wealth Management Jockey Club Sprint (1200m) and the HKG2 Sprint Cup (1200m) last term, will make an early start to this campaign.
“Charles The Great’s carrying plenty of condition and for that reason we felt it was better to get him started early in the season to work that belly off,” said Moore. “We’ll then look at the National Day Cup in early October over a 1000m, then go 1200m at the end of October and then into the trial in November for the international races the following month. He’s having one more run than the rest of my sprinters going that route.”
The Tony Millard-trained Golden Harvest (114lbs), Smart Volatility (113lbs) from the Francis Lui stable and the progressive John Size-trained Tour De Force (113lbs) will all make their seasonal bows in the feature, as will the Sean Woods-trained all-weather track winner Lord Sinclair (113lbs), who is set for his first turf start since March 2013.
The 2014/2015 season opener’s 10-race card commences at 1:00pm.
Past 10 winners of the HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup
