Weight worry for Russian Emperor
HONG KONG - Acknowledging that Russian Emperor faces a formidable challenge in the HK$4.2 million (S$730,000) Group 3 Queen Mother Memorial Cup (2,400m) at Sha Tin on May 5, trainer Douglas Whyte is hoping the globe-trotting stayer makes a strong return despite conceding significant weight to all his rivals.
To be ridden by Hugh Bowman from barrier 11 in the 12-horse field, Russian Emperor will shoulder 135lb (61kg), while Money Catcher and Senor Toba will both carry 121lb, Five G Patch has 118lb and the remaining eight – Moments In Time, Running Glory, La City Blanche, Chill Chibi, Ka Ying Generation, Natural Storm, Unbelievable and Turin Mascot – have all been assigned 115lb.
Rated 117 points and with three Hong Kong Group 1 victories to his credit, Russian Emperor has also won in Qatar for Whyte as well as in Ireland and England when previously trained by Aidan O’Brien.
Now seven, he is being set for the Group 1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2,400m) – a race he has won for the past two years – after Whyte opted to bypass the Group 1 FWD QEII Cup (2,000m) on April 28.
“Obviously, I made the decision not to run in the QEII Cup and to wait for the Queen Mother. It’s just a very similar programme to last year and then we go into the Champions & Chater Cup, which is perfect timing in three weeks’ time,” Whyte said.
“You would hope this weather would stick around for him... He’s fine. He’s a year older but health-wise, and in any other way, he’s probably on song.”
Russian Emperor has not raced since finishing 11th – beaten seven lengths – behind Beauty Joy and subsequent Group 1 FWD Champions Mile (1,600m) winner Beauty Eternal in the Group 2 Chairman’s Trophy (1,600m) on April 7.
Apart from Russian Emperor, Whyte will saddle three other runners – Cheval Valiant, Mister Dapper and King Glorioso.
Perched on 999 wins, Ricky Yiu is hopeful of joining one of Hong Kong racing’s most select groups on May 5 when the 2019/20 Hong Kong champion sends out Joyful Life, Multisuper, Chilli Baba, Midori Burly, Natural Storm, Smart City and Golden Artie in the 11-race card.
Of Hong Kong’s active trainers, only 12-time champion John Size (1,536 wins), Tony Cruz (1,503) and Caspar Fownes (1,105) have posted 1,000 wins or more. John Moore holds the record with 1,735 wins. HKJC
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