Acclamation’s Romantic Warrior Remains Perfect In Classic Mile

by Alan Carasso

Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), a graduate of the unique Hong Kong International Sale, took his record to five-from-five with a tough victory over pacesetting California Spangle (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) in Sunday's HK$12-million Hong Kong Classic Mile, the first of three legs of the 4YO Series in the jurisdiction. The Irishman (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}) rallied from midfield to finish a clear third.

Winner of five of his six starts, California Spangle–the top-rated galloper in the field–crossed and cleared his rivals from barrier 13 and set a reasonable gallop, as Karis Teetan aboard Romantic Warrior made full use of the rail draw to scrape paint down the back from a centerfield position. California Spangle, trying a distance beyond 1200 metres for the first time, went for home traveling nicely, but Teetan threaded the needle on Romantic Warrior at the quarter pole and was poised behind the pacesetter in upper stretch. A touch one-paced into the final furlong, Romantic Warrior knuckled down to split rivals and was doing his best work through the line. California Spangle, the only member of this 14-strong field without a BMW Hong Kong Derby entry, easily held second from The Irishman, who finished well while no menace to the top two. Turin Redstar (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), a two-time winner and sixth in the Brittania H. at Royal Ascot for John and Thady Gosden last June when raced as Mithras, made good ground from well back to be an eye-catching fourth at cricket-score odds.

“He had the draw and I think it helped him,” Teetan said. “I just wanted to follow California Spangle and I knew he would take me into the race but when this horse got the clear run, he really let down and I think he's got a very bright future. Man, the last 100 metres, when he got a clear run, he gave me a really good feel.”

Romantic Warrior was purchased by the Hong Kong Jockey Club for 300,000gns from the draft of David and Henrietta Egan's Corduff Stud at Tattersalls October in 2019 by a team headed up by legendary former jockey Mick Kinane. He is the third foal from his dam, a daughter of Folk Opera, whose biggest racetrack success came in the 10-furlong GI E. P. Taylor S. at Woodbine and whose resume also includes a victory in the G2 Darley Prix Jean Romanet. Folk Melody's last listed produce is a 2-year-old colt of this season named Operation Gimcrack (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}), who fetched 160,000gns from Bryan Smart Racing at last year's Tattersalls October Sale.

Sunday, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
HONG KONG CLASSIC MILE-LR, HK$12,000,000 (£1,149,106/€1,381,100/A$2,200,825/US$1,539,981), Sha Tin, 1-30, NH/SH4yo, 1600mT, 1:33.80, gd.
1–ROMANTIC WARRIOR (IRE), 126, g, 4, by Acclamation (GB)
1st Dam: Folk Melody (Ire), by Street Cry (Ire)
2nd Dam: Folk Opera (Ire), by Singspiel (Ire)
3rd Dam: Skiphall (GB), by Halling
1ST STAKES WIN. (300,000gns Ylg '19 TATOCT; HK$4,800,000 2yo '21 HKJUN). O-Peter Lau Pak Fai; B-Corduff Stud & T J Rooney; T-Danny Shum Chap-Shing; J-Karis Teetan; HK$6,840,000. Lifetime Record: 5-5-0-0, HK$10,415,400.
2–California Spangle (Ire), 126, g, 4, Starspangledbanner (Aus)–Pearlitas Passion (Ire), by High Chaparral (Ire). 1ST BLACK-TYPE. (€150,000 Ylg '19 GOFORB). O-Howard Liang Yum Shing; B-M Enright; T-Tony Cruz; J-Matthew Chadwick; HK$2,640,000.
3–The Irishman (NZ), 126, g, 4, Tavistock (NZ)–Zeranti (NZ), by Zabeel (NZ). (NZ$170,000 Ylg '19 NZBJAN). O-Edmond Lee Man Bun; B-Sir Patrick & Lady Hogan; T-Francis Lui Kin-Wai; J-Vincent Ho Chak-Yiu; HK$1,380,000.
Margins: HF, 1 3/4, 1 3/4. Odds: 39-10, 18-5, 34-5.
Also Ran: Turin Redsun (GB), Ima Single Man (Aus), Sight Spirit (Aus), Setanta (Aus), Lucky With You (Aus), Blaze Warrior (Aus), Rocket Space (Aus), Master Delight (Aus), Fa Fa (NZ), Cobhfield (Ire), Packing Victory (NZ). Click for the HKJC.com chart, PPs and sectional timing.

 

WATCH: Romantic Warrior makes it five on the trot in the Classic Mile

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Online Poker Tips And Strategy: Learn How To Win At The Internet Table

Online poker playing has become a favorite past time for many people around the world. The game of online poker is rapidly gaining popularity, and there are thousands of players on most of the major websites at any given time during the day and night. Becoming successful at online poker can also be financially rewarding for many players. To do this, you have to have a good strategy for the game. Several players run into games with no real plan in their head, and not really focused, and many will end up losing their shirts. There are several known errors that online poker players make that could easily be avoided by a good strategy before the game is begun.

One common mistake many online poker players make is that they are afraid to switch tables when needed. If you constantly play at the same table with the same opponents, they are going to learn to read your hands, your bluffs, and will be much harder for you to defeat. Experienced poker players will observe their opponents and pick up on their habits and quirks, giving them a winning advantage. They will also learn your betting habits and be better able to counter you. Staying at one table does give you the advantage of knowing your opponents better, but it is important to keep in mind that while you are learning other players, they are doing the same to you.

One of the most important things to keep in mind in any poker game is that you need to manage your money. Before you ever play, you should have a budgeted amount of disposable income that you can afford to wager, and not allow yourself to go beyond that amount during the game. Disposable income is any money that is left over once all of your other obligations have been met, food, mortgage, utilities, etc. You should also consider your poker playing ability as well when you are setting your betting limit. If you are a fairly new player, you should probably set lower limits, because you are more likely to lose your money than more experienced players. You also have to consider how much risk you want to take, playing in low limit games is pretty safe, but the higher limit games are very risky as these are usually more experienced players and play more aggressively because they place large bets. The best players are always aware of their bankroll and their limits.

Many online poker players are leery of poker tournaments. Players who regularly participate in tournaments however, will tell you that they can be the most fun and a lot of times, the most profitable for the winners. As with any poker game, luck does factor into your success, but luck does not account for skill. If you are considering playing in online poker tournaments, you need to be aware of the buy-in amount, and keep in mind that is money that you may well lose. New players to online poker tournaments will often lose their money quickly, so keep this in mind when you are playing the game and placing your bets. There are also numerous resources that can give you tips and tricks for being successful in online poker tournaments, a little research often will go a long way.

If you are going to be a serious online poker player, it is important that you know when to quit. It is hard for many players to understand this concept. Many players will play and play until they run so far into the red, they create financial problems for themselves and their families. They start to lose, and think they will play one more game to get the money back they lost, and they just continue to lose. By this point, their game is affected, because they are losing their focus, and usually will end up going on tilt, which will make the losing cycle that much harder to break. It is important to recognize that even the best players are human and have good days and bad days at the tables. Great players understand this, and when they see themselves begin a losing streak, or having a bad day, they know it is time to call it quits and come back to play another day. Learning to walk away at the right times, can save you quite a bit of financial hardship. You will find that you are better able to enjoy the game once you learn this valuable skill.

Playing online poker can be a very enjoyable experience, and also can be very profitable. The most important thing that players need to remember is just to play smart. Stay focused on the game, know what your limits are and stay within those. Learn how to manage your money wisely, and know when it is time to walk away. Keeping these things in mind, should help you become a better player.

Essential Wager Wins Palos Verdes In Stakes Debut

In his initial stakes engagement, Essential Wager showed tremendous heart in choreographing a gate to wire victory in Saturday's Grade 3, $200,000 Palos Verdes Stakes at Santa Anita. Ridden for the first time by Abel Cedillo, the 4-year-old Honor Code colt got six furlongs in 1:09.95.

Owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman, Essential Wager notched his third consecutive win and, according to trainer Bob Baffert, will make his next start in the Grade 2, $200,000 San Carlos Stakes going seven furlongs on March 5.

With his well fancied stablemate Cezanne a non-factor, Essential Wager enjoyed a length advantage over Team Merchants turning for home and held off determined longshot Shooters Shoot late for the victory.

“This horse is getting better and better,” said Baffert. “With Cezanne, I think it was a little too short for him…All of Essential Wager's races have been pretty impressive and actually, he's bred to not be a sprinter. Abel did a great job, got him outta there and held off those horses pretty well. You know, he took a lot of heat early and kept going.”

A two-length first condition allowance winner going the same distance at Los Alamitos Dec. 11, Essential Wager was the second choice in a field of five older horses at 9-5 and paid $5.60, $3.60 and $2.20.

“We started together and it's always special to come back to Santa Anita,” said longtime Baffert client Pegram, who flew in from northern Nevada. “This is my first time back in two years and we know why we call it The Great Race Place. It's very special and we always love to come back to Santa Anita.”

In his fourth career start, Essential Wager, who is out of the Officer mare Opus, picked up $120,000 for the win, increasing his earnings to $207,200 while improving his overall mark to 4-3-1-0.

Claimed for $50,000 on Jan. 2, Shooters Shoot had two lengths to make up at the furlong pole and came up a neck short in a big effort. Trained by Richard Baltas and ridden by Victor Espinoza, he was the longest shot in the field at 20-1 and paid $9.80 and $3.60.

Cezanne, who finished another 2 ¾ lengths back, had been idle since winning the Grade 3 Kona Gold Stakes here in April of last year, kept to his task to run third, 3 ½ lengths in front of Team Merchants. Off at 3-5, Cezanne paid $2.10 to show.

Fractions on the race were 22.21, 45.17 and 57.41.

First post time for a nine-race card on Sunday that will include three stakes, is at 12:30 p.m. Admission gates will open at 10:30 a.m.

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