Exultant has all credentials

The last Group 1 of the Hong Kong season has entrants from only two stables.

Trainer Tony Cruz sends out heavily favored Exultant, likely second choice Furore, and Time Warp in the Group 1 Standard Chartered Champion and Chater Cup. The opposition – Eagle Way, Chefano, Helen Charisma, and Savvy Nine – all come from the barn of trainer John Moore.

The Champion and Chater Cup is the rare high-level Hong Kong race contested at a distance as far as 1 ½ miles. It goes as race 8 of 11 on a card that starts at 12:30 a.m. Eastern and includes the Group 3 Sha Tin Vase over 1,200 meters. Live video and wagering is available at bets.drf.com.

Six-year-old Exultant, an Irish-bred gelding by Teofilo, finished second in the 2018 renewal of this race and won it emphatically a year ago. He sits comfortably atop the ranks of Hong Kong long-distance competitors and shows no sign of slackening form for Cruz and jockey Zac Purton.

Time Warp upset Exultant Feb. 16 in the Hong Kong Gold Cup after stealing away on an easy lead, but on April 26, in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup, Purton was having none of that, attacking on the backstretch with Exultant, who laid down strong middle fractions, took control of the race in upper stretch, and held clear a run from Furore. Sunday’s race will be run at level weights, and stretching out from 2,000 meters in the QE II Cup to 2,400 in the Champion and Chater Cup, Exultant’s advantage over Furore only should increase.

Chefano might be the horse with an upset chance if Exultant is feeling any effect of his seemingly demanding performance a month ago at the end of a campaign that began six starts back, on Nov. 3. Fiveyear-old Chefano, a South African-bred by Arlington Million winner Silvano, made his first start beyond 2,000 meters on May 3 in the Group 3 Queen Mother Handicap, where he made a comfortable lead, was headed by two horses before the homestretch, but came back on to post a 2 ¼-length victory. It’s possible he’s positioned closer to Time Warp than Exultant is Sunday, but at level weights, Chefano needs the favorite to make a misstep if he’s to win.

◗ Hot King Prawn is the big name in the Sha Tin Vase, but he turned in a somewhat disappointing performance March 26 in the Group 1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize, a race that five of the eight entrants exit. Hot King Prawn saved ground racing just behind the leader in the Chairman’s Sprint Prize, got through between horses when he needed room, and simply lacked the late acceleration to complete the job, checking in fourth.

Finishing second was Sha Tin Vase starter Thanks Forever, who raced from the tail of the field and came with a flashy run in the clear and on the far outside to finish third. Thanks Forever has been in good form all season, finishing there or thereabouts in several races similar to Sunday’s, and will be bet accordingly, but the pick to win is Wishful Thinker. Wishful Thinker raced just in front of Thanks Forever during the early and middle stages of the Chairman’s Sprint Prize but stuck to the inside and encountered compromising traffic. When he finally got through the race was over, but Wishful Thinker’s final furlong was very good, and he always seems to be a big price.