Chasing his first Class 2 Chinese New Year Cup Handicap (1400m) victory, Pierre Ng is armed with two decent chances in the HK$2.84 million feature at the Chinese New Year meeting on Friday.
Apprentice jockey Britney Wong will partner Drombeg Banner, while visiting jockey Jamie Melham will ride Aurora Lady for Ng in the Chinese New Year Cup, the traditional feature of Chinese New Year Raceday.
Drombeg Banner had the option to run in the Group 3 Centenary Vase Handicap (1800m) at the same meeting; however, Ng decided to stick with the Chinese New Year Cup, which Ng believes better suits the horse distance-wise.
Ng said: “1400m is the best distance of Drombeg Banner and therefore I decided to run him in this race, as this is an easier race for him compared with the Group 3 on the same day, and because he has to carry heavy weight (131lb) I chose to engage Britney, who has ten-pound claim.”
“Drombeg Banner has further improved this term and has been a model of consistency in this class. He will race in the front as usual,” Ng added.
Meanwhile, Aurora Lady will bid to open his account at Sha Tin after winning three races at Happy Valley this term. The Star Witness gelding will be stepping up in trip over 1400m for the first time on Friday.
Ng said: “Aurora Lady has proven himself in Class 3 and I want to test him over a bit longer distance at Sha Tin,” Ng said.
“Initially, I intended to engage Mickael (Barzalona) but as the horse only carries 116lbs in the race, I turned to Jamie (Melham) as she is a light-weight jockey. Aurora Lady will follow Drombeg Banner during the Friday’s race.” Ng added.
Friday’s 11-race card at Sha Tin starts with the Class 5 Kung Hei Handicap (1200m) at 12.30pm HKT. The Class 2 Chinese New Year Cup is carded as Race 4 at 3.05pm local time.
The meeting also features the Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m), the first leg of the 2025 Four-Year-Old Classic Series, which is carded as Race 8, and Group 3 Centenary Vase Handicap (1800m), which is carded as Race 4.
The Triple Trio’s estimated dividend for a single HK$10 winning unit could reach HK$18 million for Chinese New Year Raceday. The Quartet & First 4 Merged Pool will also be topped up with a HK$2.8 million jackpot.
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