Xtension (11): expected to play a big part in HK Mile after taking trial run

  PICTURE: Hong Kong Jockey Club  

Home trials point way to winners in Hong Kong

WORLD CLASS: an analysis of the international scene according to Racing Post Ratings

THE Hong Kong International Races always attract plenty of action from overseas but the best trials for the valuable fixture normally come on home soil at Sha Tin.

Europeans may hold sway in the longer races of the Hong Kong championships (the Vase and Cup) but the local team have dominated the Mile and Sprint and the vast majority of those winners ran in the recognised trials.

Sunday saw the first running of the three major trials,the Cathay Pacific-sponsored Jockey Club Sprint, Mile and Cup, on the same card, creating the first proper trials day.

The most effective trial in recent times has been the Mile which has produced the last five winners of the HongKong Mile, although only one horse in that period achieved the double.

The reasons for this are twofold. Firstly, these are trials, aimed to get horses spot on for the main event. And secondly, Sunday's trials are Group 2 events, so there are some fairly hefty penalties on offer for top-level winners.

In the Jockey Club Mile former Ger Lyons inmate Destined For Glory made the most of his base weight to narrowly snatch glory from the favourite, Hong Kong's leading middle-distance performer Ambitious Dragon (122), by a short-head.

The winner earned a fresh high RPR of 117, although with three penalised Group 1winners finishing in close proximity he actually came out fourth best at the weights.

Ambitious Dragon heads next to the Hong Kong Cup so the highest-rated trialist heading to the Mile is likely to be the former Clive Cox-trained Xtension, who charged home from the rear to take fifth, just over half a length off the winner.

Xtension looked as good as ever and posted an RPR of 121+. Trainer John Moore admitted before the race that he was being fine tuned for December 11, so there could yet be more to come.

Excelebration leads the foreign challenge on the HK Mile. He has a peak RPR of 129 this season for his second placed effort behind Frankel in the QEII Stakes on Champions Day, which makes him one of Europe's highest-rated competitors in the history of the Mile.

That may not be a good omen, however, as 127-rated Paco Boy finished last in 2010 and 129-rated Rakti was eleventh of 13 back in 2005. Some take to the late-season demands of Sha Tin, some don't.

The Jockey Club Sprint has also proved a good trial for the International Races in recent times, producing five winners and all seven runners-up of the Hong Kong Sprint in the last seven years.

Again, and for similar reasons to the Mile,doubles were rare, with only two horses managing to win both the Hong Kong Sprint and the Jockey Club Sprint in that time - and they were world champions Silent Witness and Sacred Kingdom.

Little Bridge came out on top on Sunday with a career best RPR of 119. That level wouldn't normally be enough to win the HK Sprint, and with him getting a perfect trip from a good draw, he looks unlikely to follow the greats by doubling up next month.

Entrapment (117) stayed on for second and Rich Unicorn (115+) had a bit of trouble in running before finishing fourth, but there didn't look to be enough quality here to trouble likely hot-favourite for next month's feature, Rocket Man (127).

Europe has won eight of the last 12 runnings of the Hong Kong Cup, so the Cup trial has been less informative than the shorter trials in recent years.

That said, the last time a home-trained horse won the Hong Kong Cup (Vengeance Of Rain, 2005) he also won the trial, while three of the last four trial winners all went on to finish second to a foreigner in the Cup.

With Cirrus Des Aigles (130) and Snow Fairy (125) Cup-bound this is likely to be one of the strongest European raids, so the double looks unlikely for Sunday's winner Thumbs Up (118).

Group 1 winner California Memory (120) came out best at the weights in fourth but that leaves Ambitious Dragon, who contested the Mile, as the highest rated trialist from Sunday heading to the Cup.

In Japan, French raider Sahpresa finished third in the Mile Championship for the second year running, makinggood ground against the pace and staying on late. The winner Eishin Apollon posted the performance of the week with an RPR of 123.

Runaway Arc-winner Danedream is another European with her eyes on the big Yen out east. She is set to contest the Japan Cup on Sunday.

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