Designs On Rome, Red Cadeaux Head QEII Cup
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Hong Kong Horse of the Year Designs On Rome will bid for a repeat victory in the HK$20 million Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup (HK-I) April 26 at Sha Tin Racecourse.
To achieve that notable double, he will have to see off an elite field that features a number of top-class local rivals and four talented overseas raiders.
Thirteen runners, including 2013 race winner Military Attack and globetrotting group I winner Red Cadeaux, are set for this year's renewal, which offers a record purse. The QEII Cup ranked 19th in the latest list of the World's Top 100 Group I Races, and the world-class race day is one of Hong Kong's most glamorous occasions, blending high-end chic and pinnacle sport.
"The Hong Kong contingent features two past winners in Designs On Rome and Military Attack, both of whom are well-established among the best 2,000-meter (about 1 1/4-mile) turf runners in the world, and, as usual, we have some talented challengers flying in from overseas. It has all the hallmarks of a fascinating and exciting group I occasion," said Bill Nader, the Hong Kong Jockey Club's executive director of racing.
Elite Hong Kong runners Blazing Speed and California Memory also will are aiming for the race.
Of the four foreign-based contenders, Staphanos, one of Japan's most promising rising stars, will attempt to become the third horse from his homeland to wrest the prestigious prize; Criterion, a fine third to Designs On Rome in Hong Kong Cup (HK-I) will aim to become the first Australian-based victor; past Hong Kong Vase (HK-I) hero Red Cadeaux will try to claim another major top-level race; and Smoking Sun has been set the task of emulating Jim and Tonic's win for France back in 1999.
A pair of exciting up-and-comers is also among this year's selected runners. The Andreas Schutz-trained Packing Llaregyb is a Hong Kong group III winner on the rise and the 5-year-old will attempt the QEII Cup distance for the first time. Helene Happy Star was a good fourth in the BMW Hong Kong Derby, a local group I, in March and will aim to continue his upward curve against the very best. The talented Mr Gnocchi and Same World will also represent the home team.