David Hayes will chase a third victory in the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) at Sha Tin on Friday when the dual Hong Kong champion trainer unleashes Rubylot in the first leg of the HK$52 million Four-Year-Old Classic Series.
Now in his second stint in Hong Kong, Hayes first tasted success in the feature with Resfa, who triumphed for Basil Marcus in 1999 when it was named the Hong Kong Classic Trial, and struck again in 2001 when Shane Dye scored on Charming City.
Since returning to Hong Kong for the 2020/21 season, Hayes has had several runners in the Hong Kong Classic Mile, including The Summit, Beauty Joy and Shadow Hero in 2021, Lucky With You in 2022, Bon’s A Pearla and Flagship Warrior in 2023 and Star Mac, who finished third behind Helios Express and Helene Feeling last year.
With five wins from 16 starts, Rubylot is the joint highest-rated horse in the Hong Kong Classic Mile with Francis Lui-trained Packing Hermod on a mark of 93 with Hayes’ galloper prevailing in the Class 2 The Racing Club Cup Handicap (1400m) on January 12, defeating four of Friday’s rivals – Johannes Brahms (third), Packing Hermod (fourth), Glory Elite (fifth) and Divano (eighth).
“I’m very happy with him (Rubylot). I think his race (on January 12) was probably the hardest of all of the lead ups,” Hayes said. “He also ran second in another (race), which was similar. I have no doubt he’ll run the mile – I think he’ll run a very good mile.
“He’s had a lot of race experience and his racing pattern says he’s crying out for a mile, but I’ve really saved it up for this race. I thought I’ll keep him at the shorter distance because there’s less pressure, but now we’ll stretch him out.”
Rubylot will start from barrier 10 under Brenton Avdulla, as reigning Hong Kong champion trainer Francis Lui aims for his first Hong Kong Classic Mile success since Golden Sixty in 2020 with a four-strong arsenal featuring Packing Hermod (Zac Purton), Divano (Blake Shinn), Call Me Glorious (Matthew Chadwick) and Cap Ferrat (Vincent Ho).
Following a string of testing barrier draws, Packing Hermod starts from barrier six on Friday.
“He (Packing Hermod) is doing well. Of course, he is the one I expect to be hard to beat when you look at how he’s performed so far, but we will see,” Lui said. “I think the mile will be okay for him now he’s more relaxed and he keeps improving a little bit with every run. Hopefully he can run well.”
Divano must overcome barrier 14, while Cap Ferrat (gate three) and Call Me Glorious (five) have drawn nicely.
Completing the line-up is Fast Network (Christophe Soumillon), Johannes Brahms (Mickael Barzalona), Glory Elite (Harry Bentley), Mickley (Hugh Bowman), Lucy In The Sky (Karis Teetan), My Wish (Luke Ferraris), Top Gun (Jamie Melham), Talents Ambition (Matthew Poon) and Markwin (Derek Leung).
The Hong Kong Classic Mile is the first leg in the three-race Four-Year-Old Classic Series, which also features the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m) on March 2 and the HK$26 million Hong Kong Derby (2000m) on March 23.
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