Racing fans are presented with a classic form analysis conundrum in the HK$12 million BMW Champions Mile at Sha Tin, with a horse coming off a career high against the horse coming off a career low but Ambitious Dragon gets his chance to redeem himself. Had you arrived from Mars and seen a one-horse race, the Dubai Duty Free - or alternatively from Europe and seen only two races, add the Hong Kong Cup where Ambitious Dragon also failed - you might wonder why we are having this discussion. In Duba
Racing fans are presented with a classic form analysis conundrum in the HK$12 million BMW Champions Mile at Sha Tin, with a horse coming off a career high against the horse coming off a career low but Ambitious Dragon gets his chance to redeem himself.
Had you arrived from Mars and seen a one-horse race, the Dubai Duty Free - or alternatively from Europe and seen only two races, add the Hong Kong Cup where Ambitious Dragon also failed - you might wonder why we are having this discussion.
In Dubai, Cityscape (James Doyle) was a comprehensive winner. Some behind suffered interference, didn't get the right positioning or simply didn't turn up, but nobody thought anyone else should have won.
It was a career highlight for the Roger Charlton-trained Cityscape and the black and white of a race result on a page hardly allows for a different result today. He races handy to what looks modest speed, he showed with his unlucky defeat in the Hong Kong Mile that he acts at Sha Tin and he has the record of a good horse, 17 starts for 13 top two finishes. It won't surprise if he wins and doesn't surprise that rival trainers are keen, as trainers are known to like last-start four-length winners.
So much for the Cityscape case. What of the case against him? Well, start with only two foreign placegetters since the race went international, but that overlooks the scarcity of serious foreign prospects previously.
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