The Hong Kong Derby form has passed most of its tests so far, but Got Fly can give it another boost by winning the Group Three Queen Mother Memorial Cup (2,400m) at Sha Tin today(May 9), reports Racing Post HK.
Luger's heart irregularity in the Champions Mile last week prevented the Derby winner from doing anything himself for the reputation of the race, but others he beat comfortably in the classic have supported its quality by racing very well since.
Richard Gibson-trained Got Fly (Douglas Whyte) was next best on Derby day, finishing well into second place over a strongly run 2,000m and that makes him the form horse today, even with some queries on him.
Of course, 2,400m races in Hong Kong always contain a lot of question marks as far as the distance is concerned, given that horses get so little practice at it.
On the flip side, what tends to be tested is the horse's ability to relax rather than whether he can run out a long distance, since these races are rarely fast run. In that sense, what he had left in the tank at the end of the Derby is of little relevance since all runners had every right to be empty after the torrid speed.
Last year's winner, Bubble Chic, and the horse who ran odds-on and finished third to him, Khaya, look the likely front runners today, ahead of Thunder Fantasy and Shamkiyr but there appears little real pressure, in the usual pattern. Perhaps we will see someone take off early as Brett Prebble did on Thunder Fantasy winning the Class Two lead-up.
So the test for Got Fly will not be whether he runs a strong 2,400m, because he won't have to, but whether he sprints quicker than the others in a soft 2,400m or races too keenly and leaves himself without any run for the finish.
If he relaxes, Got Fly should prove too good.
Gibson has an interesting hand overall, though, with his four runners also including in-form Take To The Limit, Shamkiyr getting very quickly to a staying distance after a nice debut over an insufficient 1,600m andWayfoong Express (Karis Teetan), no doubt aimed towards this since the beginning of his campaign.
Caspar Fownes-trained Renaissance Art (Keith Yeung Ming-lun) is another interesting proposition going to 2,400m and could prove the main danger.
He was very good getting past Ensuring at Happy Valley over 1,800m with 133 pounds in Class Three and Ensuring franked that form midweek.
Renaissance Art is a lightly raced young horse, like the other four-year-olds in the race, and would have been a Derby runner, too, had the circumstances been right.
The benefit he gets by not being ready in time is that today he is a horse with fresh legs and no weight on his back.