Markets are now live for Sunday’s Hong Kong International Race Day - the country’s premier racing festival!
The world’s elite gallopers, including Australian sprint queen Miss Andretti and Arc De Triomphe winner Dylan Thomas, will contest four high-calibre Group 1 events - the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Cup (2000m), the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Mile (1600m), the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Vase (2400m) and the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint (1200m).
The Australian raid on the famous Royal Ascot carnival begins this Tuesday in the King’s Stand Stakes. Sprint Queen, Miss Andretti heads the betting from Takeover Target, Bentley Biscuit and Magnus. All four Aussie horses are in great form leading into the 1000m race leaving English fans fearing Aussie domination.
King’s Stand Stakes Betting
Horse / Win
MISS ANDRETTI $4.00
TAKEOVER TARGET $5.50
BENTLEY BISCUIT $7.00
MAGNUS $7.00
BENBAUN $10.00
DANDY MAN $10.00
DESERT LORD $10.00
They call it “The Run For The Roses”, and its one of the richest and most exciting races in the world. Today will be no exception with the best 3 year old colts on the far side of the pond doing battle in the first leg of their Triple Crown.
Curlin has only had two runs but he won both races by a combined distance of 15 lengths so he heads the market - and who can argue? But the thing about the Kentucky Derby is it’s fierce competitiveness. It’s seems vaguely obscene that in 2004, the brilliant Smarty Jones (9 races, 8 wins and over $2,000,000 in prize money) went off at around 4/1, and last year the awesome but ill-fated Barbaro (4 wins from 5 races, $1.8 million in prize money) was available at 8/1 before he destroyed a top class field by 6 1/2 lengths. Those victories were separated by the victory of Giacomo who won at 50/1 in 2005. It’s a race of quality, and a bit of research and luck could lead to a big reward.
After returning a cool 112,500 in ante-post stakes on Teofilo, Paddy Power are paying FOUR places in the 2000 Guineas. And just to complete the package we’re offering 10% cashback on all placepot, quadpot, jackpot and Scoop6 bets placed this weekend! With the Scoop6 jackpot set to hit £1,000,000 this Saturday that should be all the encouragement you need.
More on that below, but first the confirmation of what pretty much every other bookie won’t be doing tomorrow:
2,000 Guineas Extra Place Special
3.25 Newmarket
Paddy Power are paying 1/4 ODDS 1-2-3-4 PLACES on the race!
Half of England’s adult population is expected to bet on this year’s Grand National, wagering an average of L8 each, with one in three being bets placed by women. Bookmaker William Hill said that it expects wagers to top L250 million by race-time on Saturday, with an estimated turnover of L500,000 for every minute they are open, until the off.
The lure of being proclaimed “Worlds Best Miler” seems to be too much for owner Paul Makin to turn down, with his 5 year old chestnut Starcraft now set to take on the worlds best in New York.
Having claimed champion miler of Europe status with a comprehensive win over Godolphin champ Dubawi in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on Saturday, Starcraft is now set to take his place in next month’s $1.5 million Breeders’ Cup Mile at Belmont Park.
Makin has already issued a challenge to the connections of Dubawi declaring, “I do not think Dubawi could beat us over any trip, ground or time,”
“He came over to join us in the race and actually hung into us, but then when our boy realised there was still a race, he pulled away.”
“Dubawi had his chance and had his ground. If Frankie can persuade the boss into a sporting wager, maybe we can get a match on.”
“It doesn’t matter where it is or what the distance is, we’ll just turn up on the day. It would give me a lot of satisfaction.”
Makin will however have to pay either a $400,000 or $800,000 fee to run the son of Soviet Star in either of the Breeders’ Cup Mile or the mile and-a-quarter Breeders’ Cup Classic which will both be run on dirt.
“Money doesn’t come into it with Starcraft and we’ll have to go where our convictions take us, but I don’t think it will be the Champion Stakes at Newmarket,” he said.
“We brought him over here to race against the best in the world, not to take on pussycats. Leroidesanimaux (the early favorite with English bookmakers for the Classic Mile) is one we’d like to beat.”
The Dubai Racing Club has announced a major increase in prize money for the Dubai World Cup meeting, further underlining it as the world’s richest day of horse racing.
The Dubai Duty Free (Group I), sponsored by Dubai Duty Free and the Dubai Sheema Classic (Group I), sponsored by Dubai Waterfront, the two turf races run on Dubai World Cup day, will now be worth a total of US$5,000,000 each, with a first prize of US$3,000,000.
The Dubai World Cup meeting to be staged at Nad Al Sheba Racecourse on Saturday, March 25th 2006, is now worth US$21,250,000.
Making the announcement, Mr. Saeed H. Al-Tayer, Chairman of the Dubai Racing Club, said, We are excited to announce an increase in prize money for the Dubai World Cup meeting, one of the most important events of the global racing calendar. The Dubai Duty Free and the Dubai Sheema Classic are recognised as important international races in their own right and thus justify this increase in prize money.
The Dubai Racing Club remains at the forefront of the development of international racing and last year we broke all records for the number of international equine stars competing at one racemeeting. We will be working tirelessly to ensure that the best horses from around the world take up the challenge to race in Dubai.
Won in 2005 by Elvstroem, the first Australian-trained horse to win at the Dubai World Cup meeting, the Dubai Duty Free (Gr.I) was first run in 1996. In 2004, the 1,777 metre Dubai Duty Free saw the first dead-heat in the history of the Dubai World Cup meeting, the first six horses to cross the winning line were separated by just over a length.
The Dubai Sheema Classic (Gr.I), run over 2,400 metres, has continued to grow in prominence since it was first run in 1998 as the Dubai Turf Classic. The race was run as a Group Two in 2001 when Stay Gold, Japans first winner in Dubai, got up to beat the previous years winner and reigning World Champion, Fantastic Light. The Dubai Sheema Classic was promoted to Group One the following year when it was won by the Dubai Champion Stakes (Gr.I) hero Nayef.
The new Hong Kong racing season kicked off yesterday at Sha Tin racecourse with former Queensland jockey Michael Rodd grabbing the headlines with a first up treble.
While Rodd took out the feature race aboard Able Prince in the Chief Executive’s Cup trainer John Moore took out the training honours with four winners on the nine race card.
Brett Prebble notched his first win of the new season while Corey Brown led home an Australian trifecta in the last when he beat home Chris Munce and Rodd to give Australian jockeys five winners for the day.
Vengeance Of Rain, last season’s Champion Middle Distance performer and Champion Stayer in Hong Kong will race in a specially conducted trial between races in Hong Kong to ensure he is in peak condition for the WS Cox Plate on October 22.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club has scheduled a trial for Saturday 17 September in which the Raymond Gianco Chow Hoi owned Vengeance of Rain will run against a handful of other horses between two of the programmed races.
The David Ferraris trained son of Zabeel has raced nine times in Hong Kong for five wins and three placings since arriving from Australia. Vengeance of Rain was undefeated last racing season taking out the Group 3 Centenary Vase over 2000 metres, the Hong Kong Group 1 Derby over 2000 metres and the Group 1 QE II Cup again over 2000 metres.
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