Stewards’ Cup draws deep field

If you enjoyed the Group 1 Hong Kong Mile and the Group 1 Hong Kong Cup back on Dec. 10, you really ought to get a charge out of the Group 1, $1,279,300 Stewards’ Cup on Sunday at Sha Tin Racecourse.

The first four finishers from the Hong Kong Mile, headed by victorious Beauty Generation, plus the top two home in the Hong Kong Cup, Time Warp and Werther, are among 13 entrants in a dynamite edition of the Stewards’ Cup.

The Stewards’ Cup is race 8 on a 10-race card and has a scheduled post time of 4:40 a.m. Eastern. Set your alarm for 4, though, to catch the co-featured Group 1, $1,279,300 Centenary Sprint Cup, which has leading Hong Kong sprinter Mr. Stunning as the star attraction. Both races are contested at level weights.

The Stewards’ Cup has the deeper and more competitive field of the two Group 1’s, and at 1,600 meters would, on the surface, favor the horses exiting the Hong Kong Mile over the same trip.

That race belonged to Beauty Generation, who, along with Helene Paragon, Werther, and Joyful Trinity is part of trainer John Moore’s four-card hand Sunday. Beauty Generation might or might not be the best of them, though he was best in the first Group 1 mile of the Hong Kong season, winning Dec. 10 by one length over Western Expression after leading all the way under local rider Derek Leung. Beauty Generation does not need the lead to show his best, but barring a poor start he is certain to be prominent throughout the Stewards’ Cup. The Hong Kong Mile marked his first start at the highest level, and bettors must decide whether he hit a one-race peak or, if at age 5 and 11 starts into his Hong Kong career, the New Zealand-bred gelding is ready to stay at the pinnacle.

Helene Paragon won this race in 2017 and pleased Moore when he breezed this week for the Stewards’ Cup. A confirmed late-running sort, Helene Paragon got in a subsequent Stewards’ Cup prep race after closing from 11th to finish third in the Hong Kong Mile.

Time Warp dictated a slow pace in the 2,000-meter Hong Kong Cup and finished so fast that chasing Werther had no chance to catch him. A different type of trip seems certain as Time Warp cuts back in distance Sunday, and of the two it probably is Werther, who is unquestionably talented enough if he can produce the needed burst at 1,600 meters, who might stand the better chance.

Mr. Stunning won the Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint as a strong favorite Dec. 10 and will be a similarly short price to beat seven rivals in the 1,200-meter Centenary Sprint Cup. Trained by John Size, Mr. Stunning appeared to be on the way to a convincing Hong Kong Sprint victory in midstretch but wound up having to work to beat D.B. Pins by a neck. D.B. Pins as well as the capable Lucky Bubbles are back for another try Sunday, but Mr. Stunning seems likely to capture another.