11/04/2013 15:23

Stunning sport in hand with chic glamour at an occasion worthy of the world stage was in every way evident at today’s selection announcement for the HK$14 million G1 Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup, which takes place at Sha Tin Racecourse on Sunday, 28 April.

And expectations remain unwaveringly high for the showcase raceday after 14 exciting runners, including six international G1 scorers, were unveiled for the prestigious 2000m contest, with Hong Kong model, actress and racehorse owner Michele Reis on hand to help with proceedings. Mr William A. Nader, the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Executive Director of Racing hailed the upcoming occasion as “a sparkling uptown social event that showcases the best of Hong Kong to the world.” 

Ambitious Dragon is a head turner by any measure and Hong Kong’s reigning Horse of the Year will face a raft of talented home-based challengers, as well as four top drawer overseas contenders hailing from Japan, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.

Eishin Flash represents Japan and brings stellar form to the event. The G1 Japanese Derby winner in 2010, Hideaki Fujiwara’s charge won a strong renewal of the G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) last season and was within three quarters of a length of the mighty Orfevre when third in the G2 Sankei Osaka Hai Stakes over the distance recently.    

Sajjhaa from Saeed bin Suroor’s Godolphin stable has been a revelation in Dubai this year and the top-class mare saw off stellar rivals to win the recent G1 Dubai Duty Free. Behind Sajjhaa on that occasion was South Africa’s champion mare Igugu who showed that she was running towards peak form when fifth in that Meydan contest. The latter’s stablemate Treasure Beach, winner of the G1 Secretariat Stakes in 2011, also heads to Sha Tin after finishing behind Animal Kingdom in the G1 Dubai World Cup on the same card.

Ambitious Dragon will attempt a second APQEII Cup win having lifted the trophy in 2011 for trainer Tony Millard. California Memory, second that day, has since won the most recent two renewals of the G1 Hong Kong Cup (2000m) for his handler Tony Cruz, while what is destined to be a fascinating clash brings to the table two of Hong Kong racing’s emerging forces, Military Attack and Akeed Mofeed, both of whom have posted eye-catching wins at the course and distance.

Military Attack from the John Moore stable unleashed a brilliant turn-of-foot to win the HKG1 Hong Kong Gold Cup in February and the highly-regarded star four-year-old Akeed Mofeed landed the HKG1 Hong Kong Derby for Richard Gibson in March.

“This year’s race has again attracted some of the world’s highest calibre racehorses and it will be intriguing to see how they match up against what is an outstanding home team,” said Mr William A. Nader, the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Executive Director of Racing.

“The world class standard of Hong Kong horses is apparent in the fact that our home-grown heroes have proved the equal of their international counterparts in winning five of the last ten editions, thanks to the memorable performances of River Dancer, Vengeance Of Rain, Viva Pataca and of course our brilliant two-time Horse of the Year Ambitious Dragon, who will be tough to beat once again. This renewal will be one of the best ever.”

In what will be Hong Kong’s first big clash of the generations this season, Akeed Mofeed is joined in the field by fellow four-year-olds Ashkiyr and Crackerjack.

Last year’s runner-up Thumbs Up is engaged while fellow Hong Kong G1 regular Irian also lines up alongside Wrath Of Fire and the 2012 G1 Singapore Airlines International Cup second, Zaidan.

fonte: The HK Jockey Club