HK APR 17 - STARS UNVEILED FOR CHAMPIONS MILE

By Hong Kong Jockey Club | Wednesday, April 17, 2013

A fascinating field of star milers was unveiled today for what promises to be another thrilling renewal of the HK$12 million G1 Champions Mile, with last year’s one-two Xtension and Glorious Days featuring among the 14 runners, as well as three classy overseas raiders headed by King Mufhasa.

And in what for many observers is an unexpected twist, Hong Kong’s two-time and reigning Horse of the Year Ambitious Dragon could also now line up for the showpiece international Group 1 race on Sunday, 5 May at Sha Tin Racecourse just seven days after he is due to contest the G1 APQEII Cup (2000m), to attempt an unprecedented double.

“We will focus on the APQEII as our first hurdle and as long as he comes out of it in good shape, we intend to give the Champions Mile a go,” said the champion’s trainer, Tony Millard.

Ambitious Dragon, a sub-par fourth to Xtension last year, was in devastating form in his most recent start when winning the HKG1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m) under Zac Purton and has already notched one international G1 prize this season thanks to his imposing win in the Hong Kong Mile last December.

“This year’s Champions Mile is a race with some intriguing sub-plots,” said William A Nader, the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Executive Director of Racing.

“Ambitious Dragon is a superstar with the credentials to pull off an APQEII and Champions Mile double, but it is a very tall order. Glorious Days is seeking that defining win to stamp himself as a banner world-class miler and Xtension is bidding to make history with Champions Mile win number three.

"The strong Australian form of King Mufhasa and Shoot Out will test the Hong Kong defence, and with two emerging talents such as Packing Whiz and Gold-Fun, we have an elite contest befitting the race’s standing as one of the top 50 G1 races in the world.”

The Champions Mile has quickly established itself as a premier global event since allowing international runners for the first time as recently as 2005, and was earlier this year ranked equal 42nd in the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities’ official list of the world’s elite 50 G1 races.

Glorious Days will attempt to go one place better than in 2012 when he lines up at Sha Tin. John Size’s charge was the mile scene’s rising star 12 months ago and is now well-established as a powerful force.

As well as seeing off Ambitious Dragon to win the G2 Jockey Club Mile and HKG1 Stewards’ Cup at the course and distance this season, the five-year-old was runner-up to that rival in the Hong Kong Mile and most recently third in the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m) in March.

Xtension had the measure of Glorious Days by half a length in last year’s Champions Mile and the John Moore-trained race specialist is aiming at an unprecedented third victory in what is the only race he has ever won in Hong Kong.

The six-year-old will have to recapture his best form to create history but has always found an extra spark on Champions Mile day and will likely be reunited with last year’s victorious rider, the young Kiwi sensation James McDonald.

The only horse to have completed an international G1 hat-trick in Hong Kong is the retired Good Ba Ba, successful in the G1 Hong Kong Mile in 2007, 2008 and 2009, and a Champions Mile victor in 2008. Bullish Luck took the Champions Mile in both 2005 and 2006.

The two-pronged southern hemisphere assault is led by King Mufhasa who has enjoyed a storied career to date in Australia and New Zealand, the Kiwi champion having notched 10 G1 wins so far. Last time out the eight-year-old Bruce Wallace trainee was a fine second to Australian star Pierro in the G1 George Ryder Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill, Australia.

Australian hero Shoot Out, trained by Chris Waller, is also among the selections. He remains in Saturday’s Doncaster Mile at Randwick with his connections yet to confirm a final decision as to whether the horse heads to Hong Kong or solely targets that Australian prize.

His five G1 wins include a breathtaking success in the Chipping Norton Stakes at Warwick Farm in March, his second victory in that race.

European representation comes in the form of Penitent. A dual G2 winner at a mile in Britain for trainer David O’Meara, the seven-year-old was runner-up in last season’s G1 Prix de la Foret at Longchamp.

Packing Whiz stormed into Champions Mile consideration with a scintillating win in the HKG2 Chairman’s Trophy at the course and distance on 7 April for trainer Caspar Fownes. The five-year-old, winner of the G3 Italian 2,000 Guineas in 2011, has long threatened to break through at the elite level.

Gold-Fun represents the four-year-old generation against the established older milers. Richard Gibson’s charge landed the HKG1 Hong Kong Classic Mile in January and steps back to 1600m after running third to Akeed Mofeed in the HKG1 Hong Kong Derby in March.

Among the remaining Hong Kong runners, the consistent Moore-trained Dan Excel was second in the Stewards’ Cup and most recently in the Chairman’s Trophy too, while the Tony Cruz-trained Pure Champion was third in the latter contest and took second in the HKG1 Hong Kong Gold Cup in February.

Talented performers Packing OK, Helene Spirit, Admiration and Penglai Xianzi complete the field.

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