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| Sumita Pawar |
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As he prepares to team up with three Japanese gallopers at Sha Tin on Sunday, Damian Lane has picked Hishi Iguazu as his top FWD Champions Day ride.
Lane has established a strong association with Japan over the past five years, with several successful riding stints there. He has also achieved international Group One wins on Japanese gallopers, including Win Marilyn in the 2022 Hong Kong Vase.
On one of Hong Kong racing's biggest days, the 30YO jockey will ride Hishi Iguazu in the Group One QE II Cup, Obamburumai in the Group One Champions Mile, and Sunrise Ronaldo in the Group One Chairman's Sprint Prize.
Lane expressed his excitement for the upcoming meeting, stating that he has the pleasure of riding a couple of impressive horses. Notably, he has ridden 120 winners in Victoria this season and currently leads both state and metropolitan premierships.
"That was one of my intentions when I first went to Japan, I was hoping to be able to ride the Japanese horses when they travel and it's been great so far."
In the upcoming QE II Cup, Hishi Iguazu will be facing Romantic Warrior once again, after finishing third to the reigning Hong Kong champion in the Group One Hong Kong Cup back in December.
Last year, the 8YO trained by Noriyuki Hori was just beaten by another Japanese galloper, Loves Only You, when he finished second in the same race. However, Damian Lane, who will be riding Hishi Iguazu, is a bit concerned about Hong Kong's wet weather, which might pose a challenge for his mount.
"He loves it there in Hong Kong, he runs well every time he goes," Lane said. "We're a little concerned about the weather and the possibility of a wet track with him, but the stable is really happy with his condition and if he runs up to his last two runs in Hong Kong, he'll be very competitive.
"Romantic Warrior's obviously the champ and they've met twice and [Romantic Warrior] has beaten [Hishi Iguazu] both times. He's up against it but he's gone close both times, so hopefully he gets his chance to turn it around."
The talented Obamburumai is set to face a challenging task against the exceptional Golden Sixty, but he has an impressive track record of four wins from seven starts.
Damian Lane partnered with the Keiji Yoshimura-trained colt in his last outing, which happened to be his first time riding the horse. Unfortunately, the wet Randwick track in Sydney did not favor them, and they finished 13th in the Group One Doncaster Mile.
“Not much went right for him in Sydney,” Lane said. “He’s a horse who runs best with plenty of room and time to build into his races, but he didn’t get either of those.
“He had a long time in between runs, so hopefully that run has brought him on. He’s a classy horse who can hopefully bounce back.”
According to Lane, Sunrise Ronaldo, who has won four races up to 2,000m, will need to deliver his best-ever performance to compete with the formidable California Spangle, Victor The Winner, and Mad Cool, his Japanese counterpart, in the Chairman's Sprint Prize.
“He doesn’t quite have the form of some of those better ones,” Lane said. “He’s got to step up a bit, but I’m sure if they thought he wasn’t capable, they wouldn’t have brought him over.”