Able Friend, the world’s equal top-rated horse, is among eight selected for the HK$14 million Group 1 Champions Mile at Sha Tin racecourse on Sunday, 3 May. The selected runners were revealed today, Wednesday, 15 April, and also feature the exciting HKG1 BMW Hong Kong Derby victor, Luger.
The Champions Mile is ranked 17th in the World’s Top 100 Group 1 Races and the 2014 edition was the joint-ninth best race staged in the world that year according to the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities’ (IFHA) elite list.
Able Friend has a peak rating of 125 for his performances so far this year and an impressive success in the lucrative showcase in two and a half weeks could push that rating even higher. The John Moore-trained star was runner-up to Variety Club in last year’s Champions Mile but has since put together a five-win streak that has included impressive elite triumphs in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile in December (a performance rated 127), the G1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m) and the G1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m).
Able Friend warmed up for his Champions Mile assignment with a win in the HKG2 Chairman’s Trophy (1600m) on 7 April. In an enthralling clash of the generations, the outstanding five-year-old now looks set to face Hong Kong’s pre-eminent four-year-old, the John Size-trained Luger, who stretched out to 2000m last start in the HKG1 BMW Hong Kong Derby. Luger, the winner of seven from 10, had only previously won at 1400m and a mile, so the drop back in distance is expected to suit.
Stablemate Dan Excel, the 2013 Champions Mile winner and successful in the G1 SIA Cup (2000m) in 2014, is also set to oppose Able Friend, as is another Moore trainee, Rewarding Hero, who has placed third to Able Friend in the Chairman’s Trophy and Stewards’ Cup already this year.
Beauty Flame would have notched three major wins in his last three starts but for Able Friend. Tony Cruz’s top-class performer has filled the second spot in the Stewards’ Cup, Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup and Chairman’s Trophy since the turn of the year and made the big horse work harder than usual last time.
Talented gallopers Real Specialist, for the John Size stable, the Moore-trained Secret Sham and All You Wish, trained by Dennis Yip, are also among those aiming for Champions Mile glory.
Mr William A. Nader, the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Executive Director of Racing said: “This year’s Champions Mile does not have an overseas challenger but that does not lessen the quality of the race. The equal world’s best racehorse, Able Friend, is a horse of immense aptitude and his appeal is such that he is capturing the imaginations of a global audience. He will be tough to beat, but in the potentially world-class BMW Hong Kong Derby winner, Luger, he has a new and exciting challenger to contend against. With top-class horses like Dan Excel, Beauty Flame and Rewarding Hero in the line-up too, the race is high on quality and offers the prospect of a competitive and thrilling spectacle.”
??
|
Photo 1:
Able Friend
|
Photo 2:
Luger
|
|
Photo 3:
Dan Excel
|
