What the Epsom Derby is to English people, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is to the French, the Melbourne Cup to Australians and the Kentucky Derby to Americans – that is what the Hong Kong Derby means to Hong Kong owners.
It’s the race. The one trophy every owner in Hong Kong wants above everything else.
And that’s why the Classic Cup matters. The second leg of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series is usually a decent guide to the Derby winner – not because the winner always wins the Derby, but because most years it leaves us with a clear favorite.
This year? Not at all.
Let’s start with the beaten favourite, Little Paradise.
He missed the start by three lengths and then rushed up to make his position. That’s where the race was lost. In the Classic Mile he did no work – he had an easy run, saved energy and when he got clear at the 200 metre mark he sprinted. It was the perfect shape for him. In the Classic Cup he burned petrol early in a genuinely fast-run race, and when it came time to quicken at the top of the straight, that energy was gone. He ran really well. He just couldn’t reproduce the same turn of foot because he’d already spent it.
Can he still win the Derby? Absolutely. If he draws a gate, gets out cleanly and settles in fourth or fifth with cover, he’s right in the race.
Numbers was the second favourite and Derek Leung erred by leading. He got trapped into the habit of his last two wins, but there’s a big difference between leading with 115 pounds in a weaker race and doing it on level terms in a Classic Cup with proper weight. When you’re on 126 and the field is even, you can’t spend your horse like that and get away with it – and he didn’t get away with it. The encouraging thing is that Numbers is the one horse in this crop you can be confident will run a strong 2000 metres. He’s bred for it, he’s already done it and getting beaten this way can only help him because Derek now knows what he can’t do.
The runner-up Invincible Ibis ran well when ridden closer. That’s worth noting. Give him another low gate in the Derby and he will be competitive.
Third-placed Patch Of Cosmo also gave me some hope. He never wasted energy, kept coming through the straight and he’s bred to run the trip. If he draws a good gate in the Derby he can run closer, and based on his runs this season, he will be right in it.
But the run of the race – the one nobody is talking about – was Dazzling Fit.
He went probably the best race of his career. Wide, no favours in a fast run race, wasting energy and he battled on to be beaten about three lengths. Is he bred to stay the Derby distance? Not on paper. But if he draws a gate, gets tucked away and saves ground? He’s going to be there somewhere. In a Derby this open, you can’t dismiss him.
Sagacious Life is the worry. The roaring issue emerged again, three weeks out from a 2000 metre Derby and that’s a real problem.
And the winner? Stormy Grove did nothing wrong. But he got a beautiful race set-up – no wasted energy, the race was ideally set up for him to show his best. He came out at the top of the straight full of petrol and hit the line. If it’s a fast-run Derby it will suit him. You know how he will be ridden and the race he needs.
The three horses who didn’t get every chance given the way the Classic Cup was run? Dazzling Fit, Numbers and Little Paradise.
So what’s my tip?
I’m not giving you one yet.
This year, more than most, I want to see the barrier draw first – because that will decide the winner.
Jerry Chau: The Rise Of Hong Kong Racing’s Newest Local Hero
Jerry Chau was a star apprentice. He broke the record for wins by an apprentice in Hong Kong – passing Matthew Chadwick’s record for most wins in a season.
Then he lost his way for a bit. Suspensions hurt him last season, momentum stalled, and in Hong Kong that can snowball quickly.
This season, he’s riding brilliantly.
He missed the opening day of the season to go to Korea and he rode two outstanding races there – winning the Korea Sprint on Self Improvement and finishing second in the Korea Cup on Chancheng Glory. For a young jockey to go to another country, handle that pressure and deliver rides like that – it’s a big deal. It takes confidence to do what he did. And he’s brought it back with him.
Technically, he’s very well balanced on a horse. And crucially, he can ride a horse back in the field or put one in the race. That versatility matters in Hong Kong more than almost anywhere.
His partnership with Lucky Sam Gor is a good example of what he can do. Before the Classic Cup he’d ridden the horse three times for three wins, because he found the key to him – get him back, get him relaxed and let him hit the line. In the Classic Cup he was ridden too close in a fast-run race and didn’t see out the 1800m. That’s not the horse going bad. That’s just what happens when the tactics don’t fit the race.
One small thing I notice in Hong Kong – and I won’t overplay this – is the ratio of wins to seconds for a jockey. Hong Kong races are decided by very small margins. There often isn’t much more than a head or a neck between winning and running second. So if a jockey has more wins than seconds, he is usually in form. Jerry has 28 wins and 27 seconds. In Hong Kong, that tells you something. There are only three full-time jockeys in Hong Kong riding at better than 10 per cent – the other two are Zac Purton and Hugh Bowman.
But the biggest improvement is patience. He’s learning that races don’t have to be won at the 400 or 500. He’s waiting more often now, keeping his horses balanced, letting them arrive at the right moment. Will that cost him a race every now and then? Yes. But long term, he will develop into a far better jockey riding the way he is now.
Jerry Chau is currently fourth in the jockeys’ championship after another three-timer on the weekend.
It’s great for Hong Kong racing when a local jockey does really well because the fans really get behind them. ∎
