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| Shipping Horses Is Risky, but Hong Kong Race Is Enticing | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Horses from around the world, and the people who own and look after them, have been traveling over the past week to take part in the Hong Kong International Races, four Group 1 contests at Sha Tin Racecourse on Sunday. Once they land, they get red-carpet treatment that the owners and trainers will probably be talking about for years. | Horses from around the world, and the people who own and look after them, have been traveling over the past week to take part in the Hong Kong International Races, four Group 1 contests at Sha Tin Racecourse on Sunday. Once they land, they get red-carpet treatment that the owners and trainers will probably be talking about for years. |
| For the humans, the glass is never empty, and the plate is always full at a stream of parties and events leading up to the big day. The horses, meanwhile, will find a clean bed, good food and the best veterinary care around as they rest for their races. | For the humans, the glass is never empty, and the plate is always full at a stream of parties and events leading up to the big day. The horses, meanwhile, will find a clean bed, good food and the best veterinary care around as they rest for their races. |
| The Hong Kong event in December and the Dubai World Cup in March serve as bookends for the global racing year. Each tempts horse owners with lucrative purses, an extravagant welcome and a few days of parties they will not soon forget. Each has a limited population of locally trained horses and is strategically located to draw shippers from Asia, Europe and the Southern Hemisphere. And each covers most of the expenses for invited horses, ensuring that there is no shortage of entries. | The Hong Kong event in December and the Dubai World Cup in March serve as bookends for the global racing year. Each tempts horse owners with lucrative purses, an extravagant welcome and a few days of parties they will not soon forget. Each has a limited population of locally trained horses and is strategically located to draw shippers from Asia, Europe and the Southern Hemisphere. And each covers most of the expenses for invited horses, ensuring that there is no shortage of entries. |
| While there are other high points in the international calendar — the Arc de Triomphe event in France, the Breeders’ Cup in the United States and Royal Ascot in England — nobody rolls out the welcome mat like Hong Kong and Dubai. Dubai got the ball rolling with the development of the World Cup in 1996, and Hong Kong’s meeting gathered steam three years later, when its flagship Hong Kong Cup was elevated to international Group 1 status, the highest level of thoroughbred racing. | While there are other high points in the international calendar — the Arc de Triomphe event in France, the Breeders’ Cup in the United States and Royal Ascot in England — nobody rolls out the welcome mat like Hong Kong and Dubai. Dubai got the ball rolling with the development of the World Cup in 1996, and Hong Kong’s meeting gathered steam three years later, when its flagship Hong Kong Cup was elevated to international Group 1 status, the highest level of thoroughbred racing. |
| “What’s so impressive is that everything was prepared in advance,” said Jules Susini, who is looking after Saonois, the French Derby winner, who will run Sunday in the Hong Kong Cup. “We’ve got everything we need, and in case they’ve missed anything, there is always someone around to help.” | “What’s so impressive is that everything was prepared in advance,” said Jules Susini, who is looking after Saonois, the French Derby winner, who will run Sunday in the Hong Kong Cup. “We’ve got everything we need, and in case they’ve missed anything, there is always someone around to help.” |
| Despite the popularity of these high-end meetings, shipping horses is not without risk. Horses are like humans: some travel well, some go along for the ride but would rather stay home, and some break out in a cold sweat the minute they see a suitcase. | Despite the popularity of these high-end meetings, shipping horses is not without risk. Horses are like humans: some travel well, some go along for the ride but would rather stay home, and some break out in a cold sweat the minute they see a suitcase. |
| Frankel, arguably the best racehorse in the world, retired in October undefeated but never raced outside his native England because he did not travel well. | Frankel, arguably the best racehorse in the world, retired in October undefeated but never raced outside his native England because he did not travel well. |
| At the other end of the spectrum, Cirrus des Aigles, the world’s top-rated horse still racing this year and the only one to give Frankel a run for his money, has logged more frequent-flier miles than most. From his base in Chantilly, France, Cirrus has traveled to England, Japan and Dubai and is on his fourth trip to Hong Kong. | At the other end of the spectrum, Cirrus des Aigles, the world’s top-rated horse still racing this year and the only one to give Frankel a run for his money, has logged more frequent-flier miles than most. From his base in Chantilly, France, Cirrus has traveled to England, Japan and Dubai and is on his fourth trip to Hong Kong. |
| While the horse has won three Group 1 races and millions in prize money, it has not all been smooth sailing. | While the horse has won three Group 1 races and millions in prize money, it has not all been smooth sailing. |
| “Two years ago, he came from Japan, and the quarantine was difficult,” said Corine Barande-Barbe, his trainer. “He was a tired horse when he got to Hong Kong. And then last year, he got boxed in in the stretch and couldn’t get a run. This year, he’s had only light racing, and he is really in form.” | “Two years ago, he came from Japan, and the quarantine was difficult,” said Corine Barande-Barbe, his trainer. “He was a tired horse when he got to Hong Kong. And then last year, he got boxed in in the stretch and couldn’t get a run. This year, he’s had only light racing, and he is really in form.” |
| Cirrus, a 6-year-old gelding, made his first trip to Hong Kong when he was just 3, finishing fifth in the Hong Kong Vase. He has become a hero in his home country, where he is known as Fighting Cirrus, with a record of 16 victories and 22 places from 45 career starts. Cirrus’s breeding, which could best be described as obscure, with nothing notable in five generations of his maternal line, makes him a flag-bearer for the underdog. He will nonetheless be one of the favorites to win on Sunday. | Cirrus, a 6-year-old gelding, made his first trip to Hong Kong when he was just 3, finishing fifth in the Hong Kong Vase. He has become a hero in his home country, where he is known as Fighting Cirrus, with a record of 16 victories and 22 places from 45 career starts. Cirrus’s breeding, which could best be described as obscure, with nothing notable in five generations of his maternal line, makes him a flag-bearer for the underdog. He will nonetheless be one of the favorites to win on Sunday. |
| Trying his best to give him a run will be Saonois, who is also a member of the rags-to-riches set. Bought for just 4,000 euros by a country baker, Saonois won the Group 1 French Derby and the Group 2 Prix Niel this year before heavy ground ended his hopes of winning the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in October. His owners turned down an offer to buy the horse for a small fortune before the Arc, and now they are hoping that the unseasonably heavy rain in Hong Kong stops soon so they can have a shot on Sunday. | Trying his best to give him a run will be Saonois, who is also a member of the rags-to-riches set. Bought for just 4,000 euros by a country baker, Saonois won the Group 1 French Derby and the Group 2 Prix Niel this year before heavy ground ended his hopes of winning the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in October. His owners turned down an offer to buy the horse for a small fortune before the Arc, and now they are hoping that the unseasonably heavy rain in Hong Kong stops soon so they can have a shot on Sunday. |
| If one of the French contenders wins, it will break a tie. Since the Hong Kong Cup attained Group 1 status and was lengthened to 2,000 meters in 1999, horses trained in France have won three times and Hong Kong-trained horses have won three times. England and the United Arab Emirates have each had two winning horses; the remaining races went to horses from Ireland, South Africa and Japan. | If one of the French contenders wins, it will break a tie. Since the Hong Kong Cup attained Group 1 status and was lengthened to 2,000 meters in 1999, horses trained in France have won three times and Hong Kong-trained horses have won three times. England and the United Arab Emirates have each had two winning horses; the remaining races went to horses from Ireland, South Africa and Japan. |
| But the home team seems to have a lock on two of the other International races, the Sprint and the Mile. Runners trained in Hong Kong have won nine Sprints since the race was promoted to Group 1 status in 2002. The only foreign winner was JJ the Jet Plane, from South Africa, in 2010. There is little chance of that changing this year because only four horses from abroad will be competing — two from Japan, one from Singapore and one from Australia. Local fans will largely be rooting for Lucky Nine to defend his title from last year. | But the home team seems to have a lock on two of the other International races, the Sprint and the Mile. Runners trained in Hong Kong have won nine Sprints since the race was promoted to Group 1 status in 2002. The only foreign winner was JJ the Jet Plane, from South Africa, in 2010. There is little chance of that changing this year because only four horses from abroad will be competing — two from Japan, one from Singapore and one from Australia. Local fans will largely be rooting for Lucky Nine to defend his title from last year. |
| In the Mile, Hong Kong-based horses have won eight times since the race became a Group 1 in 2000. But the French trainer François Doumen hopes to break the local lock with the filly Siyouma, who heads into the race with Group 1 victories in the Sun Chariot Stakes in Newmarket, England, and the E. P. Taylor Stakes at Woodbine in Toronto. | In the Mile, Hong Kong-based horses have won eight times since the race became a Group 1 in 2000. But the French trainer François Doumen hopes to break the local lock with the filly Siyouma, who heads into the race with Group 1 victories in the Sun Chariot Stakes in Newmarket, England, and the E. P. Taylor Stakes at Woodbine in Toronto. |
| Doumen knows what it takes to win in Hong Kong, having pioneered shipping there when he won what was then known as the Hong Kong Bowl, a 1,400-meter Group 2 race, in 1998 with Jim and Tonic. He returned with the same horse a year later to win the inaugural Hong Kong Cup, at 2,000 meters. | Doumen knows what it takes to win in Hong Kong, having pioneered shipping there when he won what was then known as the Hong Kong Bowl, a 1,400-meter Group 2 race, in 1998 with Jim and Tonic. He returned with the same horse a year later to win the inaugural Hong Kong Cup, at 2,000 meters. |
| Winning the Mile might be a tall order for Europe, but the fourth race on the International card, the Vase, has proved elusive for Hong Kong horses. | Winning the Mile might be a tall order for Europe, but the fourth race on the International card, the Vase, has proved elusive for Hong Kong horses. |
| Run at the European Classic distance of 2,400 meters, the Vase was added to the program as a way of enticing Hong Kong owners to import better stayers. It has not worked: local horses have been unable to wrest the Vase from the grip of Europeans bred to go the distance. Since the race attained Group 1 status in 2000, runners trained in France or England have always won it, with the exception of two editions, when the victors were trained in Japan (2001) and the United Arab Emirates (2010). | Run at the European Classic distance of 2,400 meters, the Vase was added to the program as a way of enticing Hong Kong owners to import better stayers. It has not worked: local horses have been unable to wrest the Vase from the grip of Europeans bred to go the distance. Since the race attained Group 1 status in 2000, runners trained in France or England have always won it, with the exception of two editions, when the victors were trained in Japan (2001) and the United Arab Emirates (2010). |
| This year, France looks like it will have the upper hand, with the three-time Group 1 winner Meandre and the 2011 Melbourne Cup winner Dunaden lining up. | This year, France looks like it will have the upper hand, with the three-time Group 1 winner Meandre and the 2011 Melbourne Cup winner Dunaden lining up. |