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Originally Posted by CSC
Good Ba Ba is in great form, if I was going to take a chance on beating him, John Moore's stable is in great form at the moment. That is where I would be looking, though that may be more wishingful thinking.
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I always root for Ba Ba. Hell, I want about 6 of them to cross the finish line together!
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Swoon!
Stellar early entries for Audemars Piguet QEII Cup, Champions Mile
12 March 2009
Early signs indicate next month's Audemars Piguet QEII Cup and Champions Mile will lure several of the world's best thoroughbreds to Sha Tin.
Forming one of the most prestigious occasions on the international racing calendar, the international Gr.1 double bill is set for 26 April and both races attracted 478 entries from 23 racing authorities at the close of first nominations.
Supported for the eleventh year by the master Swiss watchmakers, the HK$14m Audemars Piguet QEII Cup is the season's springtime showcase. Over the past decade, the race has gone from strength to strength, won by an array of champions from South Africa, Japan, France, Germany and Hong Kong.
This season, 21 Gr.1 winners from around the world stand out from 80 entries, chief among them the last two titleholders, Archipenko and Viva Pataca, and the reigning Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Cup and Vase heroes, Eagle Mountain and Doctor Dino respectively.
The first five past the post in last year's Audemars Piguet QEII Cup are among the entries with runner-up Balius - since second in the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Cup and winner of the Jebel Hatta in Dubai last week - and Packing Winner and Quijano also being primed for a return.
Other prominent entries include the prolific Niconero and Tuesday Joy, respective winners of five and four Gr.1 races in Australia and Jay Peg, successful in both the Dubai Duty Free and the Singapore Airlines International Cup last year.
Collection, the favourite for the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Derby on 22 March, is a new and exciting entry among the local names.
A restructuring of the Asian Mile Challenge bonus system and a 50 per cent cash injection to HK$12m looks set to ensure a strong field for the Champions Mile.
Almost 400 entries featuring 52 Gr.1 stars have been received, nevertheless, last year's winner and dual Cathay Pacific Hong Kong champion Good Ba Ba sets the standard, particularly over a course and distance at which he has recorded ten victories.
Interestingly, however, Hong Kong's Horse of the Year is on course for a rematch with one of his old foes in Creachadoir, the horse he narrowly beat in the CXHK Mile of 2007 and who has not raced since winning the Lockinge Stakes (Gr.1) last May.
Another notable potential rival is Vodka, a resounding winner of last year's Yasuda Kinen en route to being crowned the first female to win the JRA Horse of the Year crown in over a decade. Vodka will next start in the Dubai Duty Free.
Assessed the equal of Good Ba Ba in the 2008 World Thoroughbred Rankings at a rating of 124, Paco Boy, trained in Britain, is the leading European entrant; multiple Gr.1 winners Light Fantastic and Racing To Win are among several possible starters from Australia and the same goes for Mike de Kock's top class South African pairing of Kildonan and Russian Sage.
Supplementary entries for both races close on Tuesday, 7 April with selections announced the following day. Declarations to run are due Thursday, 23 April.