Francis Lui saddles three runners in the HK$13 million G1 Queen\u2019s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (22 February) as he attempts to challenge Ka Ying Rising in his bid to win an 18th consecutive race and set a Hong Kong record.<\/p>
Lui\u2019s in-form stable boasts 14 winners from the last 10 meetings, and a post-New Year surge has seen him climb to fifth in the trainers\u2019 rankings for 2025\/26.<\/p>
The handler will saddle Copartner Prance, Packing Hermod and Patch Of Theta in Sunday\u2019s feature race, which is carded as Race 8 and will be run at 4.35pm, with David Hayes\u2019 sprint superstar seeking the second leg of the Hong Kong Speed Series against a field featuring two other Group 1 winners.<\/p>
Of Lui\u2019s three entrants, it is Hong Kong International Sale graduate Patch Of Theta that stands out with six wins over 1400m, including a last-start win in Class 1 company earlier this month. Maxime Guyon\u2019s mount jumps from gate six.<\/p>
\u201cThis horse is good; he always holds his condition,\u201d Lui said. \u201cHis form is good. I feel he\u2019s best just between 1400 (metres) and a mile (1600m). At the moment, he looks like 1400 is his best distance.<\/p>
\u201cGetting in the prize money would be good on Sunday. But, of course, David Hayes\u2019 horse (Ka Ying Rising) is outstanding,\u201d he added.<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”8884″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
In a field without an abundance of genuine 1400m form, Lui\u2019s Packing Hermod also boasts a strong 1400m profile with three wins, a second and a third from eight trips at the distance. Partnered by Harry Bentley for the first time, and jumping from barrier eight in his first outing in Group 1 company, the five-year-old son of Rubick has the credentials to be competitive.<\/p>
\u201cSometimes he\u2019s a bit nervous before the race in the Parade Ring,\u201d Lui said. \u201cBut he\u2019s also okay. And he\u2019s worked well since his last run.\u201d<\/p>
Bentley galloped the five-year-old on Thursday morning (19 February) and confirmed he was happy with the horse\u2019s condition, saying: \u201cHe\u2019s holding his form well, so he\u2019s going into the race in good shape.\u201d<\/p>
\u201cThe pace is going to be pretty solid. He\u2019s a horse that doesn\u2019t necessarily need to be ridden that close to it, so we can just take our time and slot in,\u201d he added. \u201cI\u2019d like to think I can just get in somewhere in the midfield or second half, and I\u2019m not too worried about the draw.\u201d<\/p>
Sunday\u2019s race represents a step up in class for the Australian-bred gelding, and Bentley was realistic about the size of the task.<\/p>
\u201cHe\u2019s tried and tested at the distance, and it\u2019s clearly what he wants, so you\u2019d like to think that that\u2019s going to stand him in good stead to run a decent race,\u201d the English rider said. \u201cHe\u2019s up against some extremely stiff opposition.\u201d<\/p>
Copartner Prance is at an all-time high rating after two sterling efforts at the beginning of the season. A second in the G3 Celebration Cup Handicap (1400m) behind My Wish was followed by a second in the G2 Sha Tin Trophy handicap (1600m), trailing home Mark Newnham\u2019s talented five-year-old again. James Orman takes the ride on the six-year-old and jumps from barrier nine.<\/p>
Lui, the Hong Kong Champion Trainer in 2023\/24, is an 11-time Group 1 winner and trained the great Golden Sixty, but the Queen\u2019s Silver Jubilee Cup is one piece of silverware to have eluded him so far in a distinguished training career. Despite the high-level opposition, Sunday\u2019s renewal is an opportunity for him to claim that first win.<\/p>
Friday morning (20 February) saw an all-star barrier trial when rivals Voyage Bubble (Zac Purton) and Romantic Warrior (Karis Teetan) lined up for a 1600m turf hit-out. The 2024\/25 Triple Crown champion led home last month\u2019s G1 Stewards\u2019 Cup (1600m) winner, crossing the line in 1m 38.09s ahead of Romantic Warrior in 1m 38.17s. The two are due to go head-to-head in next month\u2019s G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m), the second leg of the Triple Crown.<\/p>
Sunday\u2019s (22 February) 11-race fixture at Sha Tin commences with the Class 4 Daffodil Handicap (1000m) at 1pm.<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”8883″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Francis Lui saddles three runners in the HK$13 million G1 Queen\u2019s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (22 February) as he attempts to challenge Ka Ying Rising in his bid to win an 18th consecutive race and set a Hong Kong record.Lui\u2019s in-form stable boasts 14 winners from… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":8885,"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-queens-silver-jubilee-cup\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8880"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-queens-silver-jubilee-cup\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-queens-silver-jubilee-cup\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-queens-silver-jubilee-cup\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-queens-silver-jubilee-cup\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8880"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-queens-silver-jubilee-cup\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8887,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-queens-silver-jubilee-cup\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8880\/revisions\/8887"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-queens-silver-jubilee-cup\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-queens-silver-jubilee-cup\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-queens-silver-jubilee-cup\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-queens-silver-jubilee-cup\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}