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Chadwick aims to be in charge in Sunday��s HKSAR Chief Executive��s Cup

04/09/2015

The 2015/16 Hong Kong season opener is almost here and Sunday’s (6 September) curtain-raising 10-race card will be bursting, as usual, with the thrills, drama and excitement that are the quintessence of Hong Kong racing. Prime billing goes to the Class 1 HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup (Handicap) over 1200m, in which 11 high-class sprinters will vie for the campaign’s first feature trophy race.

Lucky Nine, twice Hong Kong’s Champion Sprinter and a three-time international Group 1 winner, heads the weights on 133lb. That represents a tough task even for a horse of Lucky Nine’s talent and so trainer Caspar Fownes has turned to apprentice Jack Wong, who will take a handy 10lb off the eight-year-old’s back.

Fownes will also saddle the lightly-weighted I’m In Charge (113lb), a course and distance winner on his most recent start back in July. That was the six-year-old’s fourth win from seven starts last term, a run of results that took him from a rating of 76 this time last year to his current mark of 101.

Matthew Chadwick retains the ride and was in the saddle for the gelding’s most recent barrier trial on 29 August, a 1000m turf heat in which he was a fair three and a half lengths seventh behind Packing Pins, Amber Sky, Rich Tapestry et al.  

“He trialled the other day and I was happy with that,” said Chadwick. “He’d come on since his last run - he had time off through the summer and that freshened him up. We were happy with the trial, he was drawn on the wrong side of the course and I had to make a bit more use of him than I would have liked and he paid for that at the end.

“With a nice draw on Sunday he should get a nice position and run well. He has a nice weight and he’s drawn a gate (1), he jumps well enough so he should be in a nice, handy position, hopefully he’ll travel and find his way home. If all goes well he should go close.”

Champion Jockey Joao Moreira kicked off last season with victory in the feature aboard Golden Harvest and this time he will partner the John Size-trained Teofilo Calva.  Meanwhile, Zac Purton was stood down from riding in Sunday’s races and Neil Callan will deputise for him in this trophy event on the third Fownes contender Domineer (127lb).

Douglas Whyte last won the HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup in 2008 (Enthused) and the 13-time Hong Kong champion will be on board the high-class Beauty Flame for Tony Cruz. Last season’s G1 Stewards’ Cup and G1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup runner-up prepared for his first start at a distance short of 1400m when fourth to the speedy Jetwings in an 800m barrier trial on 25 August.

The Size stable is triple-handed with multiple course and distance winners Tour De Force (122lb) and Access Years (117lb) also in the field - Vincent Ho is booked to take a further 2lb off the latter’s allotted weight. The smart Key Witness (113lb), from the Tony Cruz stable, will benefit from Keith Yeung’s 2lb claim while the John Moore-trained Exciting Dream, under Karis Teetan, will shoulder 116lb.

Chad Schofield will attempt to emulate his father, Glyn Schofield, who won the HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup for trainer Derek Cruz on his first Hong Kong race day (2002, Smart Winner). Cruz is hoping lightning will strike twice as he has booked the younger Schofield for You Read My Mind (113lb). Meanwhile, Tony Millard looks to High Five (113lb) to emulate the stable’s success with Golden Harvest last term.

The 10-race card also features the Class 2 Albert Handicap (1000m) in which Neil Callan will partner eight-time course and distance winner Go Baby Go. The eight-year-old straight track specialist is set to shoulder top-weight of 130lb in the 12-runner contest, which also features the exciting Jetwings (125lb) from the Richard Gibson stable.

Callan partnered the Dennis Yip-trained Go Baby Go to a close 2nd in an 800m barrier trial on 25 August and was on board this morning (Friday 4 September) as the gelding worked 800m on the all-weather track in 58.5s (30.2s, 28.3s).

“He’s in great form and he’s moving well,” said Callan “I rode him again this morning and he feels nice and fresh. Dennis has done a great job training this horse because 1000m races from Class 2 and above are few and far between, so he’s had to keep him ticking over and bring him cherry ripe after a big gap between his races. He won well on his last start last season over 1000m and I’m hoping he can start off in a good vein.

“He’s dropped down the ratings a bit and he’s into Class 2 but he’s a Group 3 winner down the straight, so we know he’s been capable of better form. In this grade he’ll hold his own. It’s a tricky draw but he has natural speed and hopefully he can slide across.”

The afternoon will commence with the traditional banging of the ceremonial gong, which will be performed by Mrs. Carrie Lam, Chief Secretary for Administration of the Hong Kong SAR. Mrs. Lam will also present the feature race trophy to the winning connections.

The 2015/16 Hong Kong racing action will then commence at 1pm with the Class 5 Tim Mei Handicap. The HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup is race three on the card and is due off at 2pm. Racegoers will receive a free calendar upon entry at the racecourse (while stocks last).

Past 10 winners of the HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup

 

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