Tomodachi Kokoroe (135lb) is enjoying his best season to date and Harry Bentley is hopeful the speedster can maintain his positive trajectory in Thursday\u2019s (1 January) HK$4.2 million G3 Chinese Club Challenge Cup Handicap (1400m) at Sha Tin, although the British rider is tempering his expectations with the contest\u2019s highest-rated horse.\u00a0<\/p>
The Written Tycoon galloper \u2013 raced by the Tak Sum Syndicate \u2013 won his first three starts this term, including the HK$5.35 million G2 Premier Bowl Handicap (1200m), before his sixth placing in the HK$28 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) behind Ka Ying Rising on 14 December \u2013 his first attempt at racing\u2019s elite level.\u00a0<\/p>
Bentley said: \u201cIt was a solid effort. It wasn\u2019t easy taking on those horses at level weights in a Group 1 \u2013 I still think he ran an okay race. He\u2019s back up to 1400 metres for the first time in a while, but he has finished second over the distance before (on 1 July, 2024) having led nearly all the way.<\/p>
\u201cThese Group 3s or handicap Group races are often won by horses with bottom weight. So, you\u2019d have to go into it with managed expectations carrying top weight. But the horse is in good form and there\u2019s some tough opposition, so we\u2019ll do our best.\u201d<\/p>
Seven-year-old Tomodachi Kokoroe\u2019s resurgence began as trainer David Hayes added the \u2018blinker with one cowl only\u2019 in his final start of last season, resulting in the bay\u2019s then 84 rating soaring to a current career-high mark of 110. A seven-time winner in Hong Kong, Tomodachi Kokoroe has faced 1400m twice before at Sha Tin.<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column]
Tomodachi Kokoroe wins the Premier Bowl at Sha Tin.<\/p>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
\u201cWe know he can stay 1400 (metres). We have a lovely draw (one) and we have options. I\u2019ll see what David wants to do \u2013 either if we take a seat and relax behind someone or if he wants to roll on at his own pace, then we can do that as well,\u201d Bentley said.<\/p>
The Chinese Club Challenge Cup also features Patch Of Theta (134lb), Packing Hermod (133lb), Light Years Charm (132lb), Beauty Eternal (127lb), Johannes Brahms (117lb), Aeris Nova (116lb), Capital Delight (116lb), Dancing Code (116lb), Sky Trust (115lb), Storm Rider (115lb) and Gustosisimo (115lb).<\/p>
Looking to enhance his 10 wins this season, Bentley takes nine mounts at Sha Tin on Thursday, including Serangoon (124lb) in the Class 4 Mui Wo Handicap (2000m). The rider has prevailed twice aboard the Tony Cruz-trained charge previously at Happy Valley.<\/p>
\u201cI\u2019m reunited with him \u2013 I\u2019ve ridden him on lots of occasions. He\u2019s been racing well; perhaps he just hasn\u2019t quite had the rub of the green, but he has a nice draw (four), and the distance is never going to be a problem for him \u2013 he could get double, if he had to,\u201d Bentley said.<\/p>
Irish jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle kicks off his three-month contract with five rides at Sha Tin, booked for Legend Star, Alabama Song, Packing Hurricane, Frantanck and Beauty Alliance.<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”8483″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
The 22-year-old jockey partnered Al Riffa and Galen at the recent LONGINES Hong Kong International Races, finishing fourth atop each horse in their respective Group 1s.<\/p>
Thursday\u2019s (1 January) 11-race Lucky Start 2026 Raceday at Sha Tin begins at 12.30pm with the Class 5 Tsung Pak Long Handicap (1600m).<\/p>
A jackpot of HK$10 million has been accumulated for the Triple Trio, while a jackpot of HK$1 million from the Operator Reserve will be offered for the first Double Trio.<\/p>
The Quartet & First 4 Merged Pool will be topped up from the Jackpot Reserve totalling HK$2 million \u2013 allocated to the Chinese Club Challenge Cup (Race 8) and Race 11.<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”8482″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Tomodachi Kokoroe (135lb) is enjoying his best season to date and Harry Bentley is hopeful the speedster can maintain his positive trajectory in Thursday\u2019s (1 January) HK$4.2 million G3 Chinese Club Challenge Cup Handicap (1400m) at Sha Tin, although the British rider is tempering his expectations with the contest\u2019s highest-rated horse.\u00a0The… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":8484,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"2normal","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-lucky-start\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8480"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-lucky-start\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-lucky-start\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-lucky-start\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-lucky-start\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8480"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-lucky-start\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8486,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-lucky-start\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8480\/revisions\/8486"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-lucky-start\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-lucky-start\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-lucky-start\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-lucky-start\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}