FWD Champions Day

by Alan Carasso There were no surprises among the winners on Sunday's FWD Champions Day program at Sha Tin Racecourse, as the betting favourites in each of the afternoon's three Group 1 affairs each prevailed with a fair bit of authority. Fittingly, the winners will each take down year-end honours in their respective divisions, even as the award for Hong Kong Horse of the Year figures to remain an open and much-debated question for the next 2 1/2 months. Romantic Warrior Dusts Elders in QE II Cup... In one of...

While the ongoing complications caused by COVID-19 have resulted in no overseas competition, Sunday's FWD Champions Day meeting at Sha Tin will not lack for intrigue, as the region's top horses face a real challenge from the first two home in last month's BMW Hong Kong Derby. Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) is the afternoon's pin-up horse as he seeks an unprecedented 21st career victory when he goes in defence of his crown in the G1 FWD Champions Mile. The 6-year-old suffered the second and third losses of his career...

On this day 12 months ago, jockey Vincent Ho guided Southern Legend (Aus) (Not A Single Doubt {Aus}) to an upset victory in the FWD Champions Mile, his first Group 1 score some 10 years removed from being named the champion apprentice rider in Hong Kong and about a month after throwing Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) across the line first in the prestigious BMW Hong Kong Derby. Sunday's FWD Champions Day program at Sha Tin, attended by the biggest on-track crowd since COVID-19 took hold last year, marked a...

Japanese-based gallopers have left their mark on FWD Champions Day at Hong Kong's Sha Tin Racecourse, and as many as five raiders from the nearby island nation will attempt to continue that trend this weekend in front of as many as 6,000 racegoers as COVID restrictions ease in the region. The day's richest event at HK$25 million is the G1 FWD QE II Cup (2000mT), in which Japan owns four of the seven entries with a cloud hanging over the participation of 2019 G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase hero Glory...

The 2020 renewal of FWD Champions Day was conducted on a misty and overcast Sunday afternoon at Sha Tin Racecourse in the New Territories, atmospheric conditions befitting the current state of racing in Hong Kong. A recent spike in coronavirus cases has led to a re-tightening of social distancing requirements, meaning just a smattering of connections at the track on a day that typically draws upwards of 50,000 racegoers and meaning that foreign horses--in particular, those based in Japan--were unable to contest a meeting at which they have tasted considerable...

FWD Champions Day at Hong Kong's Sha Tin Racecourse is annually a miniature version of December's Longines Hong Kong International Races, with three Group 1 races offering prize money of HK$63 million (£6.6 million/US$8.1 million) and only a top-level race over 2400 metres missing from the mix. At least some of the buzz about this year's event has been dashed owing to the coronavirus pandemic, which has rendered Champions Day a wholly domestic raceday, but the beat goes on, with the vast majority of the jurisdiction's top gallopers set to...

In his final year of training in Hong Kong, the legendary John Moore will saddle two of the three favourites on Sunday's FWD Champions Day program at Sha Tin. Thursday's barrier draw only enhanced the chances of the stable's two-time Horse of the Year Beauty Generation (NZ) (Road to Rock {Aus}) and rising star Aethero (Aus) (Sebring {Aus}), who each drew gate five for the G1 FWD Champions Mile and G1 Chairman's Sprint Prize, respectively. Beauty Generation became the first horse in Hong Kong racing history to crack the HK$100...