South African racing fans will be glued to their television screens on Sunday morning as the Tony Millard trained son of Philanthropist, Singapore Sling, lines up in the HK$ 18 million Gr1 Champions Mile at Sha Tin.
Singapore Sling (photo: HKJC)
The race is off at 09h20 SA time and is one of three Gr1 features on Hong Kong’s Champions Day.
The Drakenstein Stud-bred Singapore Sling, a R225 000 Cape Premier Yearling Sale graduate, was runner-up in the BMW Hong Kong Derby and was arguably the most consistent horse of this year’s four-year-old series; after a second to Nothingilikemore in the Classic Mile, he won the Classic Cup before finishing second to a rampant Ping Hai Star in the Derby.
He thus drops 400m in trip and will be ridden again by Chad Schofield
The HK$24 million Audemars Piguet Gr1 QEII Cup sees a mouth-watering clash between Hong Kong Cup winner Time Warp, Hong Kong Derby winner Ping Hai Star, last year’s runner-up Pakistan Star and Japanese duo Al Ain and Danburite.
A multitude of racing fans at large, presumably bar those associated with rival runners, will no doubt be hoping the unpredictable and enigmatic Pakistan Star will do his best and win for Hong Kong.
Not to mention those with a vested interest; owner Kerm Din, stand-in jockey William Buick and trainer Tony Cruz, who this week spoke glowingly of the innate talent of the quirky five-year-old who entered the racing arena with two stunning last-to-first wins in July and September, 2016.
“In terms of raw ability – Silent Witness aside – Pakistan Star’s as good as anything I’ve trained and he should have won the QEII last year,” Cruz said.
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