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The latest in world horse racing news from the journalists at Idol Horse.
# Idol Horse News Desk Podcast — Cleaned Transcript
speaker-0 (00:00.098)
This is the Idol Horse News Desk podcast. I'm Michael Cox, editor at Idol Horse. So Autumn Glow dominated her matchup with Sheza Alibi in the Wink Stakes, but will she take the challenge of Ka Ying Rising in the Everest? Coming up next, the Ka Ying question with Adam Pengilly. Then Ka Ying Rising's streak, Romantic Warrior's plans, James Cummings' first season expectations, and racing's move into mainland China.
David Morgan joins us to talk through the top five storylines of the upcoming Hong Kong racing season. All brought to you by Keeneland September Sale, the world's biggest yearling auction running September 14th through to September 26 in Lexington, Kentucky. Coming up next, Adam Pengilly on the Idol Horse News Desk podcast.
Welcome to the Idol Horse News Desk podcast. Joining us Adam Pengilly. Adam, welcome to the podcast.
speaker-1 (00:58.978)
G'day Coxy, how you going?
speaker-0 (01:01.154)
Good. You were there on Saturday for Autumn Glow versus Sheza Alibi. Firstly, just the vibe check from the track. It was a much-hyped clash. We got what we wanted to see with two of Australia's best horses going head to head. What was the feeling in the aftermath?
speaker-1 (01:19.628)
Yeah, it was certainly one that Autumn Glow was superior horse on the day, and you probably wouldn't have picked it in the yard. Now there's people who are much more professional yard watchers than I was, but just watching both those mares parade on Saturday, I would have thought that Autumn Glow still had a bit of a wintry coat and probably a little bit more to give compared to Sheza Alibi, who looked really fit in her condition, but it didn't play out that way on the track. Autumn Glow was clearly the superior horse, jumped and got herself in the perfect position. Sheza Alibi is a little bit slower out of the gates and could never really make up the difference, albeit her last two hundred metres.
Would have pleased her co-trainers Peter Moody and Kath Coleman. And I've got to say it was quite a good vibe on track. The crowd at Randwick sort of touched about seven and a half thousand, almost eight thousand, which might not seem a whole lot to be honest, but for this early spring race like the Wink Stakes in the back end of August, it was almost a hundred percent increase on the crowd for the previous year. So hopefully next time they meet, we can know a little bit further in advance and really build the anticipation to get as many people through the gates as possible.
speaker-0 (02:17.752)
I'd encourage everybody to go to the website and check out your piece there that goes into a lot of detail about the clash. I've got reactions there from all the people that matter. What we really want to talk about here and dive into is the Everest. It's less than two months away. Ka Ying Rising trialled on Friday just before this race. He holds a stranglehold on betting for the race, going for his second consecutive win. We're fifty-something days out.
There are no other horses secured in slots for this race. Is this unusual? Has this ever happened before?
speaker-1 (02:58.016)
Never ever happened before, Coxy, in the Everest's history since 2017. Usually when we get to less than two months out from the race, there will be a number of horses locked in by slot holders and quite often it's not unusual to see, sort of, three or four months out from the race, pretty much half the field known because slot holders scramble to try and identify the best horses after the autumn carnival and they don't want to lock them in early. But the Ka Ying Rising effect is absolutely real this year. We know that he's probably going to be travelling out here, or he will be travelling out here barring any setbacks in Hong Kong before he heads to Australia.
And given he's such a dominant favourite in the betting and defending champion, slot holders are looking around going, well, who do we take? What horse do we think is capable of probably running second to Ka Ying Rising? And they're all sitting there waiting to see how a lot of these horses come back and resume their spring campaigns in Australia, and probably seeing how a lot of these two-year-olds from last season furnish into three-year-olds. So as you quite rightly pointed out, we are less than sixty days out from the race and we do not have one other horse confirmed for the race. It is rare air at the moment for the Everest.
And hopefully there'll be a flurry in coming weeks, but that just goes to show what a shadow Ka Ying Rising is casting over this year's race.
speaker-0 (04:04.738)
Just on background for Ka Ying Rising and our listeners, he trialled last Friday on the All Weather Track at Sha Tin, won his trial by nine lengths. There's a reaction piece there on idlehorse.com from Luke Middlebrook. Zac Purton, always pessimistic, saying he wasn't really happy with the trial. Nine lengths, not quite enough, wasn't on the right leg. The horse will trial again at the pre-season carnival — that'll be Saturday coming up, 29th of August — and then he will race carrying top weight on opening day at Sha Tin in a Group Three handicap. It's on September 6th, and that'll be his last lead-up run to the Everest. Look, he's obviously casting that very long shadow over this race. Autumn Glow looks like the horse from left field that could get there. I mean, left field — she's a superstar. She's no longer unbeaten.
She tried two thousand metres in the autumn and was defeated. The owner and breeder, John Messara, told you, "I'm afraid of Ka Ying Rising," said it flat out. A decision will be made in the next week to ten days on whether she goes for the Everest or heads to the King Charles Stakes on the same day. Just your impressions from John, from Chris Waller. Which way do you think they'll go and why?
speaker-1 (05:28.622)
Yeah, it's a good question. I think they're definitely giving it some serious thought about whether they go to the Everest and take on Ka Ying Rising. Now I reckon one of the reasons is — and it's a great thing for us as racing fans and punters, and it might not have been a great thing when it happened at the time — she lost her unbeaten record, as you referenced, in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes in the autumn. Now, they're not trying to protect that unbeaten record anymore and try to preserve her winning streak. They're probably a little bit freer in the ambition and targets they can look at later in the campaign. And to be honest, Michael, what better legacy to leave than potentially being the horse that can bring down Ka Ying Rising and undo his own winning run as it stands right now. Now, which way are they leaning as it stands right at the moment? My gut feel is I reckon this is as close to a 50-50 call as we've seen for a long time. Now no doubt, they can keep it at 1400 metres, a mile, and she should be extremely hard to beat. This will be outside her comfort zone, taking on a horse like Ka Ying Rising over twelve hundred metres, is probably a little bit short of potentially her best distance.
The race shape will be completely different as well. She probably won't be able to just jump out of the gates and get into a smooth spot like the one she was on the weekend. Ka Ying Rising will run them along and really put some speed and pressure into the race. So she will be outside her comfort zone. But it's a $20 million race and, probably more to the point, there's a chance of really cementing her legacy by gambling and trying to bring down Ka Ying Rising. So as it stands right now, I couldn't tell you exactly which way they're going to go, but personally, deep down, I'd love to see them take on the Everest and have a crack at the Hong Kong legend.
speaker-0 (06:59.768)
Well, wouldn't it be great? And we saw on Saturday what can be created with connections like Sheza Alibi's and Peter Moody taking that challenge and going against a horse when they know they're the outsider and risking a defeat. No one thinks less of Sheza Alibi now that she was second to Autumn Glow. I don't understand the reluctance to take the risk, especially given now that that unbeaten record's gone. When you look back at a career and a record — I think it's really pointing towards there being a bit of public expectation that Autumn Glow might take him on.
speaker-1 (07:47.436)
Yeah, the other part of this, Coxy, is that John Messara and Chris Waller, I think, have a long-range plan to try and take her to Royal Ascot next year. They want to showcase her over in the UK, and potentially the race they're looking at is a six-furlong race down the straight. And as part of that, they'd like to probably give her a chance to test her on the Flemington straight track down here in Australia, in Melbourne, to see how she handles a straight track like that, and that might feed into running in the Champions Sprint on the final day of the Melbourne Cup carnival at Flemington. Now if they're going to go down that path and they want to try and run her in a straight-track race at Flemington, then that naturally just flows into a race like the Everest being one of the races she leads into, keeping into the sprint trips this spring. So that's another consideration connections will obviously have and think about when they sit down to make a decision.
Don't get me wrong, if she goes to the King Charles Stakes, that will still be a fantastic race over a mile on the same day as the Everest. She's probably likely to meet Sheza Alibi again in that race and I dare say Autumn Glow will start a pretty short-priced favourite. But from a public expectation and, I suppose, an anticipation point of view, just how good would it be to see her in a build-up to the Everest against Ka Ying Rising over three or four weeks. Just imagine the publicity this race would be able to generate.
speaker-0 (08:58.38)
So just some other Everest slot possibilities — you also spoke to trainer Michael Kent Jr., the co-trainer of Guest House. He'll line up in the San Domenico Stakes this Saturday. He's a three-year-old with upside. Hasn't obviously been under the blowtorch from Ka Ying Rising. Just the impression you got from Michael Kent Jr. — you can read all about that in Adam's excellent piece on the website — but just the feeling you got from Junior about the possibility that Guest House heads that way.
speaker-1 (09:35.938)
Yeah, they're definitely thinking about it. So his two main goals at this stage for the spring campaign will be the Golden Rose — the three-year-old race in Sydney, a Group One stallion-making race in late September. And that has been a proven formula for three-year-olds — take on the 1400 metres at Rosehill and then freshen up over the next few weeks and come back to a really high-pressure twelve-hundred-metre race at Royal Randwick. And then his other main goal at the end of the campaign will obviously be the Coolmore Stud Stakes for the three-year-olds down the straight at Flemington on the opening day of the Melbourne Cup carnival. In between, does he take on the Everest?
Well, they're thinking about it. There's no doubt about that. And he certainly proved himself to be the superior two-year-old last campaign when he won the Golden Slipper on the biggest day of the season for the two-year-olds. So it's a logical fit, but I think they want to see how he comes back first in the San Domenico Stakes, kicking off his campaign this week. His program will likely take in the Run to the Rose after that, and then two weeks into the Golden Rose. And the three-year-olds have a great record in the Everest. We've seen a couple of winners in the past in Yes Yes Yes and Giga Kick. Mick Price and Michael Kent Jr. are quite aware that three-year-olds are really competitive in the race, and we saw Tempted last year run so well behind Ka Ying Rising. So as it stands right now, do I think that Guest House will be lining up in the Everest against Ka Ying Rising on Everest Day? Yeah, I probably do. He'll want to justify that by running well in his lead-up runs, but it'd be great to see him leading the three-year-old charge against Ka Ying Rising.
speaker-0 (10:54.734)
I'm going to put you on the spot here to close. If you're a slot holder and you can have any horse you want, other than Ka Ying Rising right now — Autumn Glow included — who do you think the most likely horse would be? Who would you want to have taking on the great champ?
speaker-1 (11:12.15)
I'll side with the market and say Autumn Glow. She's second favourite as it stands right now. And yes, twelve hundred metres might be a tad short of her best distance, but she is a genuine freak. Her record in Australia is phenomenal. She's twelve from thirteen, and as you referenced earlier, her only defeat has been over two thousand metres when they tried to stretch her out at the back end of the autumn carnival. I wouldn't put anything past that. Now, if you're going to put me on the spot right now, I'd still say Ka Ying Rising is clearly the favourite for the race, but I honestly think the best local hope flying the flag for the Australians is Autumn Glow.
speaker-0 (11:44.396)
Thanks for joining us, Adam, and look forward to your coverage throughout the Australian spring.
speaker-1 (11:49.112)
Thanks, Coxy.
speaker-0 (11:53.614)
The Idol Horse News Desk Podcast is brought to you by Keeneland September Sale, September 14th to September 24th in Lexington, Kentucky. Coming up next, David Morgan on the Idol Horse News Desk Podcast. Now for part two, joining us is Idol Horse chief journalist David Morgan. We're here to talk through the top five storylines for the upcoming Hong Kong racing season, less than two weeks away.
And on day one, Ka Ying Rising will contest the Chief Executive's Cup, aiming for his twenty-first consecutive win. David, welcome to the show. Top five storylines. The first one, Ka Ying Rising and the streak. We've just talked to Adam Pengilly about his build-up for the Everest, but what are we going to be talking about this season regarding Ka Ying Rising?
speaker-1 (12:46.894)
Look, the continuation of the streak is going to be a big talking point going into the Everest. Obviously he's got that race, the Group Three on the first day of the season in Hong Kong, which by rights he should be winning. He should go out with that into the Everest, flying to Australia with that win under his belt. And I think the question is going to be, in my mind — he's gone through this streak, he's been so brilliant, he's been exceptional, he's an all-time great, and he's been doing this for what, three seasons now — is he going to be as good this season as a six-year-old going through this next campaign? Is he going to be as dominant and as brilliant as he was, or will we start to see a drop-off? It may be that he can keep going on like Romantic Warrior and do it for another couple of seasons. But there's always that niggle in your mind that he's been winning so many races — is there going to be a drop-off at some point? Is something going to happen that affects him on that travel to Australia, where he's not quite at his peak, something that just knocks him and he becomes vulnerable?
speaker-0 (13:50.178)
Well, we've already seen the trial — his first trial back this preparation in Hong Kong last week — and, you know, we've got the eternal optimist, David Hayes, the trainer of Ka Ying Rising, and we've got one of the great pessimists of all time. Ka Ying Rising's breaking records, but Zac Purton's making a name for himself as a real nitpicker when it comes to this horse. Loves to really dive in. I don't want Zac to stop doing it because I love that he gives an honest assessment of every situation. Maybe it's a callback to when he was a young apprentice in Coffs Harbour telling trainers their horses were no good. Maybe he's trying to carry that a little bit through, because he finds a way to really get in and analyse every aspect of this horse's performances in a race and in barrier trials — a perfectionist.
speaker-1 (14:42.722)
And I do wonder as well with Zac, is there an element of — you know, in his mind he knows just how sensational this horse is, it's kind of hard to really believe it, and he's always kind of hedging a little bit, just in case something does happen — not wanting to fly in and be so over the top with it. I don't know, maybe there's a bit of hedging, maybe a little bit of subconscious superstition there, that you don't talk it up just in case.
speaker-0 (15:09.304)
The build-up to the Everest is going to be enormous. By the time the race rolls around — I was just checking, this streak is not only long in terms of the races, but the days since his last defeat — and by the time Everest Day rolls around, it'll be exactly one thousand days unbeaten, which is a neat little stat to build into. Over that thousand days we've only seen the legend of this horse grow.
He's already been to Australia once and won the Everest. Now he's embedded as a deep odds-on favourite in futures markets, so much so that no one else has really committed to a spot. I think we're going to see — it's going to be a fun time in the nearly two months we have leading up to this race. There's going to be a lot of intense speculation. Last year we saw the betting markets flip on their head from just a rumour starting that the horse isn't right. I think now, with two really accessible people around the horse, David Hayes and Zac Purton, we're going to see a lot of stories written, a lot said, and a lot of speculation about whether he is as good as you say.
speaker-1 (16:28.15)
Yeah, absolutely. And look, on that point, Zac and David Hayes — they are brilliant for promoting the horse and coming out and speaking to the media, they're accessible, they're fantastic in that regard. And we can't get away from the fact that he — as I said — is an all-time great. What he's done is sensational, to the point where, in some regards for me, he's already achieved that level and everything now is a bonus. If he wins a second Everest, my goodness, it's incredible — and yet if you look at the markets, it's probable. And that's how good he is. The incredible is actually the probable with him.
speaker-0 (17:08.973)
Okay, storyline two — Romantic Warrior, the highest-earning racehorse in history, a slew of records in Hong Kong. I could go on and on. One last dance — this will be his final season. How long this campaign lasts, well, let's see, and I guess that is the storyline I've picked out. The speculation there will be, will he, won't he, will he retire? The next big target is a fifth consecutive Hong Kong Cup. Four was already a record. Now we go for five in a row. You've spoken to Peter Lau recently. He not only said that that's on, but maybe a Saudi Cup return — returning to the scene of that heartbreaking defeat to Forever Young. Talk about the likelihood of that Saudi Cup run, the sense that you got from Peter Lau with this horse, because this is going to be the centre of some pretty intense speculation and questions around this horse.
speaker-1 (18:18.116)
Well, Peter Lau, when he spoke to me, gave me the impression that that Saudi Cup — he didn't just throw that out there as an off-the-top-of-the-head kind of thing. It's something he's thought about. It's certainly an option that he's considering and he would love to do — that's the impression I got. But, you know, he's an owner for whom this is the best horse he's ever had. He's spent a lot of money and he's had a lot of pretty modest horses as well. He doesn't take anything for granted and he understands that. Firstly you've got to get him fit and well into that first-up run, which he said is likely to be that Group Two race over two thousand metres in November, the Jockey Club Cup, as the prep run into the Hong Kong Cup, and that Hong Kong Cup is the key. That's what they really want. If he comes out of that healthy, well, then Saudi would be on the cards. And it's something he really wants to do. Obviously we all watched it, or watched it on TV — I was there and it was an incredible night, the tension before the race with those two horses, Forever Young and Romantic Warrior, that build-up, everyone, the anticipation. And then the way that race was run — it really was an epic. It was one of the races of this century. And to be in that position where you think, sort of a furlong out, "wow, this is ours, we've won this," to then go to "man, we've been beaten" — I think that obviously stuck with him and he would love to put on the record that Romantic Warrior can have a Saudi Cup as well.
And when you look at his record, my goodness, no horse has done what he's done — to dominate in Hong Kong like he has, to win a Cox Plate in Australia, to win a Yasuda Kinen in Japan, to win the Jebel Hatta, a Group One in Dubai, to run that race in Saudi on the dirt — the only time he's ever raced on the dirt, against the world's best dirt horses. There's not a horse in history who's done what Romantic Warrior's done. It's really remarkable.
speaker-0 (20:13.494)
And I'd tell you who else would like a rerun of that race — James McDonald. The ride was the subject of intense analysis. Wasn't his greatest moment. In fact, a moment he would love to have a redo of. I'm sure he relived it many times in his mind on the flight from Saudi back to Hong Kong. He rode the next day, he rode in the Hong Kong Gold Cup aboard Voyage Bubble, and there was a reaction after that race that I think said it all. He hasn't spoken much about that ride, James. But you can be sure he would love redemption in Saudi Arabia. So moving on to the third storyline that we've chosen for this season, and it's — we've gone from Ka Ying Rising to Romantic Warrior and now to a trainer, a first-season trainer, Australian James Cummings, Godolphin's former private trainer, Bart Cummings' grandson. He's walked away from Australia for this, a really high-profile recruit and someone who almost jumped the queue a little bit. I don't think they were looking for an Australian trainer, the Jockey Club, but when James Cummings became available, they made room for him. His first runners should start in September.
We've heard a lot from James. We had him on a podcast — he was brilliant. Go over to the Idol Horse Podcast, there. We've got two podcasts for those who are listening. The Idol Horse Podcast is longer interviews, deep dives, where we have a guest on the Idol Horse News Desk podcast each Monday. We'll be recording that through the season, publishing Monday or Tuesday, talking about what's just gone on and what's coming up. David, James Cummings — your impression from that podcast, what you're hearing from him, and more importantly, the horses he has on the list, given he's had a long lead-in. Your impressions and expectations ahead of his first season.
speaker-1 (22:15.47)
First off, the impression is he comes across very well. He's obviously got a good background — we know the famous family legacy, but also his time at Godolphin, working with top-class horses. He's had a lot of time to prepare for this as well, which I think is important. He's been around Hong Kong, he's seen how it operates, he's had that opportunity that some trainers don't get — most trainers, in fact, have never had that. So he's got that as experience coming in. He's had that extra time to look at Hong Kong and see what it is. I think he'll be very well prepared. He also seems to be bringing in some quality horses, some good PPs. I expect him to do really well. I don't want to paint him with the brush that people hook onto, but I would like to think he's going to be a little bit of a throwback to John Moore in some ways, in bringing in those top-class horses from overseas — a similar sort of approach, approachable to the media, open to the media. And I expect him to do well. And what does "well" look like, though? That's the question — that's the first thing that pops into my mind. The expectation for me is — Frankie Lor had sixty-five wins his first season, that was sensational. I wouldn't think anyone's expecting him to do that. If he can get around the forty-win mark, forty to forty-five wins, I think that would be a very good first season. Even Frankie Lor didn't get a Group One race winner in his first season. It's rare to do, so if he could pull off one of those he'd have had a fantastic start.
speaker-0 (23:51.084)
Yeah, I'd like to see him get a good horse. I think that part of the challenge for James Cummings is finding an identity in Hong Kong that's different to everyone else. Is he going to be the methodical John Size type trainer? Is he going to be someone that can latch onto a good horse, has classic series runners? And we might not find that out in the very first season. And I think what's impressed me about James in the conversations I've had with him, and also what I've read, is he's embracing the system. He's not coming in and trying to be bigger than, or impose his own style on, something. He's incredibly curious about how things work, asks lots of questions — if you listen to the Idol Horse podcast, his observations around Caspar Fownes and what Caspar was able to achieve, winning the championship last season — the respect for the system itself. I guess what I'm trying to say is that no trainer is bigger than the system, and that if you can't work within it, if you can't win with horses of limited ability and find a way for them to win multiple races, it's a struggle. And also his attitude has just been tremendous, and I hope that continues. His availability to the media and the way he speaks, the kindness and patience with the local media, is a real credit for a trainer in Hong Kong. It's pretty easy to talk to the English-speaking racing media, pretty easy to be friendly with all the overseas media when they come to town for the big race meetings.
But not every trainer in Hong Kong shows the time and patience for the journalists that produce the vast majority of words and writing and commentary on Hong Kong racing, and it really hurts some trainers without — I'm not even sure they're aware of it sometimes, actually. In fact I know they're not — they're not aware of what's been written about them and they don't engage with the local media. And I think James has
speaker-0 (26:14.178)
done a great job right from the start of making himself available, turning up with a smile, in the way that John Moore, when he was training here, was able to do. And just on that — something that's really interesting, that John Moore influence there with James — Moore has moved Grand Eagle to James from David Eustace. He's teaming up with James on some bloodstock deals. Do you think that influence will flow through? What does that mean for James Cummings?
speaker-1 (26:57.382)
Yeah, it could do. I don't know the depth or extent of how much interaction they have around that and beyond that, but I would think anyone going into Hong Kong, especially with the background James has, would do well to tap into John Moore and his expertise and the things he knows about the place. His record speaks for itself, the things John achieves as a trainer, the length of time he's been in Hong Kong — he knows the place inside out. So I think tapping into that can only help anyone. But like you say, I think it's a rounded thing. I don't think James Cummings is going in there thinking, in his head, "I'm going to be the next John Moore." He's going in as James Cummings, right? He's going in to do his own thing. But, as you pointed out, he's tapping in and learning from what's around him, everything he can. That's what it appears to be to me — that he's tapping in and looking at what's around him, and John Moore is definitely one of those that anyone with any sense would try to tap into, I think.
speaker-0 (27:59.402)
Okay, storyline four. The four-year-old classic series, always a defining storyline through the first part of the season. The last couple of years it's really been a series dominated by the private purchase griffins — the PPGs coming up from a rating of fifty-two and working their way in, didn't take much of a rating to get in. But this year I've just noticed a few more big-money imports sneaking back into the system. There's a few incentives there for private purchases, the PPs as they're known — that is, horses with a record prior to coming to Hong Kong. They cost a bit more, they're more exposed form, high risk, sometimes higher reward, a fresh crop. Am I reading this right? Is the impression I'm getting that there's a little more quality, top-end quality, heading into this year's — next year's, I should say — four-year-old series?
speaker-1 (28:58.528)
Yeah, I think you're right. There's a vibe — I certainly feel it's sort of a vibe of pre-COVID, those years up until sort of 2019, 2020, where in the years before that there was a lot of real quality PPs came in. And this year again, you're looking at the Queensland Derby, where the top three are all headed here, plus a couple of others — Providence, Monopolistic, Inspired Legend — and then I think Beauty Swift and Kilman as well are on the way here.
And that makes you think again — not to bang on too much about John Moore, but horses like Eagle Way, Werther, coming in from that race in particular and other races in Australia, quality horses that had that proven Group One form. And then you're looking at, in Europe, a couple, just to pick out — Generic, who won the Hampton Court Stakes at Royal Ascot, who'd run second in the race at Chester behind Constitution River, who obviously went on to win the French Derby and the Eclipse. I mean, that's quality import. Alparslan as well, who won the Greenham Stakes and ran fifth in the Irish Guineas. They're the kinds of horses that were coming in sort of a decade ago and were very exciting PPs. There's a quality about them. And especially with a horse like Generic, who — we've seen enough of him to know he's got quality, he's won at Royal Ascot, he's already a gelding, which I think is in his favour.
These are the kinds of horses you look at and go, yeah, these are exciting. This feels like a decade ago.
speaker-0 (30:28.17)
Yeah, it's certainly good news for Hong Kong racing, and if even just a handful of these horses can come through — what I'm really looking forward to is some fresh blood in that two-thousand-metre category. We've talked about Romantic Warrior a little bit earlier — the storyline there is his imminent retirement, and what that leaves is a void, a massive void, as big as there's been. Because really, this isn't to downplay any of Romantic Warrior's achievements — versatile, tough, in the longevity and the brilliance, really. I don't really care who was around from the last fifteen years that I've been covering Hong Kong racing — Romantic Warrior hasn't come off on any day they want to turn on, because he's just such a great racehorse. But behind him, it hasn't been great. Around him it hasn't been great. In fact, I really wouldn't like the look of a Hong Kong Group One two-thousand-metre weight-for-age race right now if there's no Romantic Warrior. It's — Numbers, who came through last year, placed in the Queensland Derby, he's probably next in line. Other than that, I really don't see the depth of quality, and, look, the hope is whoever stays sound and can maintain their rating is right there in these races when they come back around to facing the older horses. So I'm really looking forward to what we can find there. Now the fifth storyline is an interesting one — Conghua, the much-hyped Jockey Club training centre-cum-racecourse in Guangdong, the southern province of China, up to the north of Hong Kong, near Guangzhou — the inaugural mainland racing meeting. We've had a couple of exhibition meetings there. This is racing as we know it, no betting — so it's racing without betting. It's a historic first meeting on October 31st, invite only, mainly dignitaries — I think the media is expected to be there, Idol Horse will be there reporting. Then on November 21st, the second meeting, and this is one more for the public, bigger launch.
speaker-0 (32:51.828)
And what is hoped for — Ka Ying Rising, upon returning from the Everest, will contest the Group Two Jockey Club Sprint. Huge day, and a huge historic moment for the Hong Kong Jockey Club. What should we expect, David? What does this mean? Talk to me about it.
speaker-1 (33:13.804)
Well, it's all tied into this Greater Bay Area development, isn't it — where you've got the nine cities and the two special administrative regions, which are Hong Kong and Macau, and they form this Greater Bay Area, which covers about — I think I read fifty-six thousand square kilometres, about eighty-six million people. And it's being developed as Asia's Silicon Valley — this megalopolis that, by 2035, the Chinese government wants to be a leading global megalopolis of innovation and technology. And the Hong Kong Jockey Club has already signed this sort of collaboration — maybe the wrong word — with the Guangzhou municipality, and they revisited that in July of this year, where they deepened that collaborative agreement. So anyway, that's in a nutshell where we're at with the Greater Bay Area, and Conghua Racecourse is tied into this. It's this equine development — they're developing the equine industry within the Greater Bay Area. Hong Kong Jockey Club has tapped into this with this sort of culture, tourism and leisure element. And so, Conghua Racecourse will hold eight thousand people. It's to bring people and tourists in, develop the area and develop the equine industry around Conghua. So this is really important for Hong Kong Jockey Club in that broader political sense of where it fits in and how it can be a part of not just Hong Kong, but China as well, as this Greater Bay Area develops. So I think we can see — the first meeting, as you say, is going to be more to do with dignitaries, politicians, and then that second one, Ka Ying Rising going there if that race happens, which is expected to, on the 21st of November — that's a big statement, you know, "we've brought our best horse to race at Conghua," which is not in Hong Kong as such, it's across in mainland China, in Guangdong province. I think it's a huge statement by the Hong Kong Jockey Club to do that.
speaker-0 (35:31.702)
Yeah, it brings an enormous amount of legitimacy, and raises the stakes to bring Ka Ying Rising there, a lot of eyeballs on this development, which has been a long time coming. There's a certain amount of cynicism around Conghua over the years that I've been around Hong Kong racing, by certain elements, and I don't think it's really fair — the club needed another place to train racehorses to maintain the horse population and to grow it, the horse population, if it wants to grow racing. And now we get to see, from all reports, a nice racecourse, great surface, a bigger racecourse. And it'll be interesting to see what sort of time Ka Ying Rising can run there. Just some interesting little things about Conghua Racecourse — the turn is much wider, so the radius on that turn is a much more sweeping turn, which should enable Ka Ying Rising to really work through the gears and maintain that high cruising speed — from the twelve hundred to the eight hundred to the four hundred is really where he saps the life out of his rivals. There's going to be no betting, but I guess that's the beauty of taking him there as well — every time he goes around, the Jockey Club are tipping in to make sure he pays a dollar zero five, but yeah, it's going to be spectacular visually to see him race on this racecourse. The only other element of the racecourse itself is a little bit of an uphill kicker in the straight. So — if you want even shorter odds, course record, that's what I've got a tip for you, David — twelve-hundred-metre course record in imminent danger there at Conghua Racecourse.
speaker-1 (37:27.086)
Yeah, absolutely. But the thing is as well, it's not like he's going into an alien environment either — it's a place he knows well. He goes up there, he trains up there, he comes back to Sha Tin, so he knows the track and he knows the environment as well.
speaker-0 (37:43.682)
The other factor for me that I like about mainland racing — and people talk about no betting — I think firstly, if there is ever going to be betting on racing held at Conghua, which could happen from outside, in a Dubai-like setup, yeah — there could be betting from Hong Kong, from around the world, on races held at Conghua. It's possible. Anything is possible in this world. But if it is ever possible, what has to happen first is racing needs to be held safely, legitimately, incident-free — in terms of things you can control — at the racecourse. And if it's run regularly, it still has the added benefit of taking pressure off the racecourses in Hong Kong. Stephen Higgins and his team have worked really hard, tirelessly, on these racecourses. They're under pressure though, to host eighty-eight meetings per year through all sorts of weather conditions without really too many meaningful breaks these days. Previously, when there were fewer meetings, there was a week here, a week there, where they could take the pressure off and do maintenance work more and more. And we're seeing sometimes what looks like a tired racecourse, prone to bias, wear and tear, which is just unavoidable with the way the schedule is. My hope is that Conghua works its way into the rotation, becomes a regular part of racing, and that we see, as a result, better turf racing at Sha Tin all season round. So for me, that's an added bonus of the racing at Conghua, and — looking forward to you going there and covering it too, David.
speaker-1 (39:41.462)
Yeah, it's going to be interesting. And look, it's part of the Guangzhou municipality's five-year plan. They actually stated in their documents, I think it is, to have introduced regular international-standard horse racing — it's actually in the city's five-year plan to have international horse racing regularly at Conghua. So yeah, it's exciting times. We know that things can change in China, but this has been going on for quite a long time, the planning and development of this, to get to this point — you'd think it's in for the long haul here.
speaker-0 (40:17.23)
Thanks for joining us, David. Plenty on the site — you spoke to Harry Bentley today, just talking about what's on the site at idlehorse.com. Harry Bentley — he was injured late in the season, very late last season, had a really rough fall, a number of injuries. You've spoken to him today, he's been cleared by the chief medical officer to return to track work recently. He'll be riding on September 6th. It's a good effort to rehab. What did Harry have to say today?
speaker-1 (40:50.966)
Yeah, he said — just to go through the fall that he had, it was a pretty horrible-looking fall — he fractured his arm, fractured his shoulder, and also five ribs. So it wasn't a soft one by any means, and he took a bit of time out, just refreshed, then got back into the rehab, and he feels fit and strong and ready for the new season, so he's looking forward to it, off what was a really good season last year.
speaker-0 (41:20.59)
Plenty more on the site as well — Adam Pengilly's wrap from the Wink Stakes and some analysis around who could be taking on Ka Ying Rising in the Everest, quotes from the connections of Autumn Glow and Sheza Alibi, and plenty more coming up on idlehorse.com.
And that was Idol Horse chief journalist David Morgan, talking the top five storylines for the upcoming Hong Kong racing season, that starts September 6th. Until then — now, if you love Idol Horse, make sure you go to the website and check it out. But also leave a review and a five-star rating on the podcast. It really helps with the algorithm and it helps our podcast reach even more racing fans all around the world. Join us next time on the Idol Horse News Desk podcast.