Beauty Generation can win third straight Champions Mile

Beauty Generation isn’t quite the same horse as when he won the 2019 Champions Mile, but it is going to take a very, very good horse to keep him from winning the 2020 Champions Mile on Sunday at Sha Tin Racecourse.

Waikuku a couple months ago looked like that horse, but as Beauty Generation soldiered on, winning the Chairman’s Trophy Stakes on April 5, Waikuku, who was favored, took a wrong step in that start, backing up after holding perfect position at the top of the stretch to finish sixth, beaten nearly five lengths.

Those two are the principals in the $2.58 million Champions Mile, one of three Group 1s along with the Queen Elizabeth II Cup and the Chairman’s Sprint Prize on a 10-race program. First post for card is 12:45 a.m. Eastern. The Sprint goes as race 5, the Mile as race 7, and the Cup as race 8. The card will be run spectator-free and no international shippers are permitted this year.

Ka Ying Star set the pace and held second in the Chairman’s Trophy earlier this month, and one scenario – unlikely, not impossible – has him leading from start to finish Sunday in the Champions Mile. Ka Ying Star got five pounds from Beauty Generation on April 5 and Beauty Generation, who was asked for high speed by jockey Zac Purton for only about 30 strides, easing up just before the finish, still comfortably bested him.

Beauty Generation was a sharp winner of the 2018 Champions Mile and reached his peak in the 2019 renewal, destroying a short field with a frontrunning tour de force. He lacks the same dominant speed of his glory days, and Purton deploys tactics now more than lording his mount’s superiority, but Beauty Generation still shows plenty of spark. Trainer John Moore believes Beauty Generation comes into Sunday’s race in peak condition.

Waikuku hadn’t raced since Jan. 19 before his disappointing performance April 5, when he weighed in at 1,105 pounds, his lowest racing weight this season. He wound up on the stewards list due to poor performance but passed muster to be entered again with a mildly encouraging barrier trial (training race) April 17. Unlike during preparation for the April 5 comeback, trainer John Size, for whatever it’s worth, has been swimming Waikuku nearly every day, in addition to his regular trackwork. At his best – a second-place finish in the Group 1 Hong Kong Mile; a win over Beauty Generation in the Group 1 Stewards Cup – Waikuku would qualify as the horse to beat.

While Waikuku has a powerful kick, More Than This can finish even faster. Running second behind standout 4-yearold Golden Sixty (who’s done racing this season) in the Hong Kong Classic Mile, More Than This got his final 400 meters in a blistering 22.15. His penchant for waddling out of the gate and bringing up the rear could leave him too much to do as he steps outside age-restricted competition Sunday.

A year ago, Exultant ran a tremendous race, rallying from 12th to finish second in the $3.23 million QEII Cup, and jockey Zac Purton is certain to have him more forwardly placed Sunday, if only because just seven are entered in this 2,000meter fixture.

Time Warp got an easy lead Feb. 16 in the Hong Kong Gold Cup, holding on by three-quarters of a length to stay clear of fast-finishing Exultant and snap a 13-race losing skid. But Exultant, when Purton wants to use it, can show tactical speed, and there’s no way he’s letting Time Warp control things to the same extent Sunday. A win by anyone other than the pacesetter or likely favorite would come as a real surprise.

The $2.32 million Chairman’s Sprint figures to have Aethero and Hot King Prawn at the head of the betting. Three-year-old Aethero carries 122 pounds, four fewer than his older rivals, and has drawn a good post, 5, with Purton once again set to ride for Moore. Aethero missed the break, fought his rider, and could make no impression in his April 5 prep for this major goal, and the start is everything for Aethero, a bulky horse with brilliant speed who needs a forward placement.

It was Voyage Warrior who shook loose on the lead in that race, the Group 2 Sprint Cup, and posted a 24-1 upset as Hot King Prawn finished second. Hot King Prawn has a much longer résumé than Voyage Warrior and a stronger chance of repeating his recent performance, and while Aethero’s accomplishments haven’t caught up to his reputation, Hot King Prawn seems slightly underappreciated and could be priced accordingly.

Thanks Forever, who races with blinkers added, and major longshot Big Party also rate a second look.