Hong Kong a regular provider of high quality racing

Fifty years ago, Hong Kong was not even on the world racing map, yet week after week action from this Chinese Territory is now beamed live to Europe and Australasia and forms part of the international menu for enthusiasts worldwide.

At the weekend, we received a further reminder that the quality of racing there is also constantly on the upgrade. The G1 Hong Kong Gold Cup, run over 2,000m at Sha Tin, provided a contest equal to the best globally this month and indicated the current crop of local stars could be the most talented seen for some time.

Time Warp, a gelded son of Archipenko, returned to winning ways when making all to land the feature, thus completing the local Gold Cup double. In December, he had turned in a stunning display to beat a high-quality field in the G1 Hong Kong (International) Gold Cup.

In between, he had been well beaten in the G1 Stewards’ Cup, but a change in riding tactics had clearly contributed to his downfall that day. A return to his bold front-running style on Sunday heralded a noteworthy triumph for trainer Tony Cruz and jockey Zac Purton.

Second home Werther is a tried and tested G1 horse in Hong Kong. This time, he had the run of the race under Australian jockey Hugh Bowman but just failed to peg back the winner, with Seasons Bloom running on for third.

Purton also won the other G1 race on the card, the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup, when partnering Beauty Generation to a decisive victory. He, too, had won at the International Races meeting last December.

This five-year-old, previously placed in Classic company in Sydney, racing under the name Montaigne when trained by Anthony Cummings, continues to thrive in Hong Kong and will be a force for some time to come.

In Australia, the James Cummings-trained Kementari again emphasised his great potential and ability when winning the G2 Hobartville Stakes at Rosehill in Sydney, which should act as a prelude to more success in the Australian autumn.