River Jetez campaign in Hong Kong
Victoire Pisa, winner of last month’s Dubai World Cup, headlines a cast of international stars entered for the May 1 Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup. The Japanese-trained runner would be the first World Cup winner to race at Sha Tin. Also headed for the race are four others who ran at Meydan on the World Cup card. Cape Blanco and Gitano Hernando finished fourth and sixth in the Cup itself and River Jetez and Wigmore Hall, who finished second and third behind Presvis in the Dubai Duty Free. Local contenders include Ambitious Dragon, winner of the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Derby, as well as something old — Viva Pataca — and something new — California Memory. “This season’s APQEII line-up is not only the strongest ever, but quite possibly one of the best races in the world this year,” said William Nader, executive director of racing for the Hong Kong Jockey Club. “There is terrific balance and great depth when evaluating the talented local runners against the five selected overseas runners, which include four G1 winners.”
River Jetez trained by Mike de Kock and Herman Brown’s Gitano Hernando are the South African connections.
Herman Brown jun, who took over the training of Gitano Hernando after the World Cup because the five-year-old was sold to Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov in a deal reported to be worth $4 million, says: “The horse is still in Dubai, working well and we are very hopeful. Gitano Hernando was only a 2.75 lengths back in the World Cup, which tunred into a sprint for home after a dismally slow pace. He is distnaced suited and with a faster pace, anything could happen.’’
River Jetez has arrived together with Musir – who will contest the Champions Mile at Sha Tin on Monday 25 April.
The field for the $1.8-million Audemars Piguet QE II Cup (Group 1) over 2000m at Sha Tin on Sunday 1 May:
| Country | Int’l Rating | Name of Horse | Age | Sex | Wt. | Trainer | |
| JPN | 122 | ** | Victoire Pisa (JPN) | 4 | c | 126 | Katsuhiko Sumii |
| HK | 119 | Irian (GER) | 5 | g | 126 | John Moore | |
| SAF | 118 | ** | Gitano Hernando (GB) | 5 | h | 126 | Herman Brown |
| GB | 117 | Wigmore Hall (IRE) | 4 | g | 126 | Michael Bell | |
| HK | 116 | * | California Memory (USA) | 5 | g | 126 | Tony Cruz |
| HK | 116 | * | Packing Winner (NZ) | 8 | g | 126 | Peter Ho |
| HK | 116 | ** | Viva Pataca (GB) | 9 | g | 126 | John Moore |
| HK | 115 | * | Ambitious Dragon (NZ) | 4 | g | 126 | Tony Millard |
| HK | 115 | * | Mr Medici (IRE) | 6 | h | 126 | Peter Ho |
| HK | 114 | Mighty High (FR) | 5 | g | 126 | John Moore | |
| HK | 113 | King Dancer (IRE) | 5 | h | 126 | Sean Woods | |
| HK | 100 | Destined For Glory (IRE) | 4 | g | 126 | John Moore | |
| HK | 100 | Sapelli (NZ) | 5 | g | 126 | John Size | |
| SAF | 115 | ** | River Jetez (SAF) | 7 | m | 122 | Mike de Kock |
