Michael Cox
The BMW Hong Kong Derby is a race that shapes Hong Kong racing. For four-year-olds and run over 2,000 meters at Sha Tin, it is the most prestigious race in the city and sparks a year-round search by owners for the right horse.
The traditional path to the Derby is Hong Kong's four-year-old Classic Series that starts with the Hong Kong Classic Mile over 1,600m on January 31, continues with the Hong Kong Classic Cup over 1,800m on March 2, and concludes with the Derby on March 23.
Horses can qualify for - and win - the Derby without taking the four-year-old series route but competition for a spot in the 14-horse field is tough.
As the race gets closer, contenders need to find form and earn the ratings points needed to qualify.
Two months out from the Derby, we asked a panel of 10 Hong Kong racing experts to each rank the possible Derby contenders from one to 14. We use these lists to create a top 14, in order. The experts will continue to update lists at key times during the lead-up to March 23.
Number one on the list is Stunning Peach, who was an encouraging third last weekend at Sha Tin over the Derby distance of 2,000m. That was an improvement on his disastrous defeat as favorite in his previous start at Happy Valley, in which he jumped a shadow in the early stages and lost valuable ground, before Purton ran into interference in the closing stages.
Purton said he was happy with the horse's performance at Sha Tin. "You have to consider he had not run for a while," Purton said.
Trainer Tony Cruz will skip the Classic Mile with Stunning Peach and Purton will ride Packing Hermod, who ranked fourth in the Power Rankings and is one of three horses in the top five trained by Francis Lui Kin-wai, along with Cap Ferrat (second) and Packing Angel (fifth).
Cap Ferrat will be one of four Lui-trained runners in the Classic Mile and is high on the lists of experts despite having never won a race in 14 lifetime starts.
The reason experts have ranked Cap Ferrat so high is not only based on his eye-catching first-up run when second to Mickley but the strength of his Australian form when with champion trainer Chris Waller. Some of the horses Cap Ferrat competed against in Australia in races for three-year-olds have progressed to be top-tier horses, including Ceolwulf.
The Power Rankings could change dramatically after the Classic Mile if one of the leading lights can produce an emphatic performance but Noisy Boy (third) is skipping the first leg of the four-year-old Classic Series.
Trained by Dennis Yip Chor-hong, who won last year's Derby with Massive Sovereign, Noisy Boy arrived with form from Australia that didn't look as impressive as some of his northern hemisphere rivals on this list, but has won back-to-back races.
Noisy Boy is fit and in-form and in that way has an edge on some more highly credentialed imports that are struggling to acclimatize.
Packing Angel will also skip the Classic Mile but horses ranked six through nine will all run, with Mickley (6), Rubylot (7), Johannes Brahms (8) and Markwin (9) all leading hopes in what will be an exciting edition of the race.
Silvery Breeze (10), Bundle Award (11) and Dragon Joy (12) all missed out on a run in the race.
The 13th-ranked horse on the list, Fast Network, is an intriguing entry to the Classic Mile, where he will be ridden by Chirstophe Soumillon. He was competing in sprint races less than a month ago but acquitted himself well at the mile last start.
michael.cox@singtaonewscorp.com
Stunning Peach
Cap Ferrat
Noisy Boy
Packing Hermod
