Latest news with #Mickley
South China Morning Post
01-07-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Hat-trick hero Light Years Charm set for Group assignments after clinical Sha Tin win
David Eustace's rising star could head to the Celebration Cup to kick off next season Light Years Charm has Group racing in his future after scything his way through the field to win the Class Two Hong Kong Reunification Cup (1,400m) at Sha Tin on Tuesday. The David Eustace-trained improver always travelled best one from the rear under Zac Purton and despite turning widest of all into the straight, the top jockey was full of both rein and confidence. When unleashed, the Rubick galloper surged into the lead at the 100m pole before holding off a challenge from the equally fast-finishing Mickley to win by a head. On a day when making ground was tricky, the effort can be upgraded and Eustace already has Group racing in his thoughts, though a step up in trip might be on the back burner. Enormous win, Light Years Charm! 🤯@EustaceRacing's improving 4YO scores back-to-back Class 2 victories at Sha Tin, toughing out close-up victory over Mickley in the Hong Kong Reunification Cup at Sha Tin under leading rider @zpurton... 🏆#SummerSeries | #HKracing — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) July 1, 2025 'He doesn't do it the easy way but he just travels so well in his races and he's able to quicken off it,' said Eustace. 'To come from close to last – the second horse has obviously run very well with no weight – and do it carrying a bit more weight today against what I thought was a very strong field was a really good effort. 'We'll put him away now. It really does look like 1,400m is his trip. I know he gets back and runs on but he doesn't actually really look like he wants a mile. There's really no need to change it now. 'There is [the Group Three Celebration Cup (1,400m)] at the end of September, which looks like the logical kick-off point. We'll hope that he pulls up well, give him a break and plan for next season.' For jockey Purton, it was a straightforward assignment on a horse that is quickly building into a potential star. 'It was pretty straightforward. He got out of the gates OK for him and he was in a lovely rhythm the whole race, handled the ground really well and he was just able to come into it with a nice-timed run,' Purton said. 'He had to stave off the challenger the last 100m. He did a really good job to keep sticking his head out. 'David has done an exceptionally good job with him to bring him this far in his first season and they did a good job to find him – he came out of Lismore. It was well spotted by the agents.' Unsurprisingly, it completed another double for champion jockey Purton, who kicked off the card with victory on Gold Tack in the Class Five Racing Goes On Handicap (1,800m). Gold Tack holds on at Sha Tin! The galloper is off the mark in Hong Kong at his 30th try, capturing the opener for champion jockey @zpurton and David Hall... 👏#SummerSeries | #HKracing — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) July 1, 2025 The David Hall-trained six-year-old was zero from 29 heading into the race but was in no mood to extend the sequence to 30, always travelling kindly on long-time leader Lapras' shoulder. Off the turn, Purton asked the $6.8 shot to extend and his partner duly obliged, quickly spurting into the lead and holding off the fast-charging Mr Aladdin by half a length. 'He's had a couple of good runs recently and has been very consistent, so it was just a matter of time before he was going to get the win – at his 30th attempt it seems like waiting forever,' said Hall. 'He's a pretty limited little horse but he's had six seconds so it's nice to see him get the win. He had colic surgery at the end of last season and he pulled through that really well, so it's great for the owners – who had the patience to wait – to get a deserved win.'
The Hill
30-06-2025
- Health
- The Hill
New Harvard app identifies wildfire hotspots with biggest risk of smoke impacts
A new online platform could help communities detect a need for preventative fire management, with the goal of reducing subsequent smoke exposures. The app is able to identify not just where blazes are likely to burn, but also where their public health impacts could be most profound, as detailed in a new study, published on Monday in Environmental Science & Technology. 'We want to know not just where catastrophic fires are likely to occur, but which fires will generate the most smoke, and affect the most people downwind,' senior author Loretta Mickley, a senior research fellow in chemistry-climate interactions at Harvard University, said in a statement. Gaining that knowledge is critical, given the number of people who die prematurely from wildfire smoke inhalation in the U.S. West, Mickley explained. This trend, she added, has persisted despite decades of progress made in curbing air pollution on the coasts. To help address this gap, Mickley and her colleagues developed a Google Earth Engine App call SMRT-Flames, which enables fire managers and policymakers to evaluate potential fire-related smoke exposure risks in a given region and refine prevention strategies accordingly. While the app currently focuses on Northern California, the researchers said that it can be expanded to include other areas. Within that specific region, however, the scientists used their app to determine that in the 2020 fire season, targeted land management in the 15 highest-risk zones — about 3.5 percent of the area — could have decreased smoke exposures by as much as 17.6 percent. They also calculated that following the season, about 36,400 people died from complications connected to inhaling the fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) found in smoke. These particles, the authors explained, disproportionately impact vulnerable individuals, including those with asthma and heart conditions, as well as the elderly. The data available via SMRT-Flames could policymakers plan where management strategies, such as prescribed burns, could be most effective — and thereby reduce smoke-related health impacts over broad areas, according to the study. 'You can consider hypothetical scenarios and plan prescribed fires to reduce smoke exposure over an entire region, not just the immediate area where that prescribed fire is happening,' co-author Tianjia Liu, now an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia, said in a statement. The practice of kindling controlled burns, as opposed to preventing them, has become increasingly essential to staving off larger and more catastrophic fire events from blazing through areas in the future, the researchers noted. 'This idea of wildfires being out of control is due to a combination of factors, including climate,' co-author Makoto Kelp, now a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University, said in a statement. But Kelp also pointed to a problematic history 'of fire suppression where we've actively prevented fires for the last 100 years, which has led to this huge buildup of fuels.' As also shown in another study on prescribed burns last week, the researchers observed that prescribed burns are not quite as effective in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) — the area where homes meet wild vegetation — than outside, in the more highly forested areas. And yet, the WUI spots also come with a higher risk of smoke exposure, the authors of the current study warned. With that in mind, they explained that the SMRT-Flames app can also integrate additional on-the-ground information and other types of fuel treatment plans. 'Increasing smoke exposure from wildfires in the western US underscores the urgency of optimizing land management to account for longer-term health impacts,' the authors concluded.
South China Morning Post
01-05-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Noisy Boy out to enhance Hong Kong Derby form in big day for four-year-old crop at Sha Tin
Noisy Boy (outside) gets up for a Class Two success under Andrea Atzeni. Photos: Kenneth Chan More than a quarter of this year's Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) field line up this Sunday Noisy Boy is out to enhance March's Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) form and bounce back to his best in the Group Three Queen Mother Memorial Cup (2,400m) at Sha Tin on Sunday. Dennis Yip Chor-hong's four-year-old failed to beat a rival in March's Derby, unable to follow up impressive wins in a Class Three over 2,200m and a 2,000m Class Two – both at Sha Tin. The form of his Class Two victory has been well advertised, cosily beating the likes of Winning Dragon, Stunning Peach, Packing Angel, Mickley and Bravehearts. Noisy Boy reopposes Winning Dragon and Bravehearts in the HK$4.2 million feature and will hope to show something like his best as he looks to become another four-year-old to show he can be a force next campaign. He will also take on Bundle Award, who was seventh in the Derby after making up plenty of late ground and will make plenty of appeal to punters with Zac Purton up for the first time. Completing the field are Winning Dragon's Tony Cruz-trained stablemates Five G Patch and La City Blanche as they prepare for the Group One Champions & Chater (2,400m) later this month. The Derby form was heavily scrutinised on last Sunday's Champions Day, with the winner Cap Ferrat running a big race when fifth in the Group One QE II Cup (2,200m) behind the likes of Japanese superstars Tastiera and Prognosis. Rubylot, who finished a running-on fifth in the Derby, also ran with huge amounts of credit to fill out sixth in the same race. HISTORY AT SHA TIN! 👏👏@CWilliamsJockey wins the 148th @BMW Hong Kong Derby aboard Cap Ferrat for trainer Francis Lui over a fast-closing My Wish... #4YOSeries | #LoveRacing | #HKracing — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) March 23, 2025 Perhaps the best performance from a Derby runner came from My Wish in the Group One Champions Mile, who ran on gamely to finish fourth behind Red Lion, Voyage Bubble and Sunlight Power. Mark Newnham's rising star will not be seen again this season but will be targeted at both December's Group One Hong Kong Mile in December and the Champions Mile once again. Mickley and Steps Ahead will also bid to step forward from their Derby runs this Sunday as they drop back in distance for the Class Two Hillwood Handicap (1,600m). Steps Ahead only had My Wish behind him in the run in the Derby and he did not have the best of passages when trying to burrow up the rail. Despite that, he only finished half a length behind Mickley and trainer Francis Lui Kin-wai will be hopeful those placings can be reversed. A winner at Royal Ascot when trained by Edward Bethell in the UK, Mickley had a good midfield trip in the Derby but lacked a finishing kick in a race that was run at a bit of a crawl. Trainer John Size has called up Purton for the ride and it could be another big day for the Aussie, who rides in 10 of the 11 races and also has the plum ride on Bundle Award in the feature. Currently on 102 winners for the season, he is a whopping 46 ahead of the second-placed Hugh Bowman in the standings.
South China Morning Post
01-03-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Hugh Bowman reveals decision that led to Ryan Moore riding Mickley in Classic Cup and Derby
A desire to keep his Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) options open saw Hugh Bowman opt against making an early commitment to ride Mickley in the final two legs of the four-year-old series. The gun Australian jockey's call prompted the booking of champion British jockey Ryan Moore for Sunday's Classic Cup (1,800m) and the Derby, leaving Bowman to team up with Sky Trust this weekend. Bowman has ridden the John Size-trained Mickley in six of his seven Hong Kong starts, including a 1,600m victory in December and a fast-finishing fifth in the Classic Mile. 'I was offered the ride but, understandably, they wanted a firm commitment through to the Derby, which I wasn't willing to provide,' Bowman said. Ryan Moore at his superb best! 🇬🇧 Back in town for three fixtures, Moore is teaming with John Size to ride Mickley in search of another Hong Kong Classic Cup success this weekend after Sun Jewellery in 2016... 💫@AtTheRaces | #4YOSeries | #HKracing — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) February 27, 2025 'John and I agreed that he'd look for someone else and who better than Ryan Moore, who's obviously ridden plenty for John. If he wins, I'll take my hat off to them and there's no reason he can't. 'His profile is good but for me, making a long-term commitment with other options, I just wasn't prepared to do it.' As for his Derby options, Bowman is keeping his cards close to his chest. 'Not sure yet. If the Derby was this weekend and I had to chose one and [Mickley] was on the table, I would choose him. But for me at the time, a decision had to be made and I wasn't ready to do that,' Bowman said. One of Bowman's potential Derby prospects was Family Jewel, who loomed as a top chance in Sunday's Class Three Yan Tin Handicap (2,000m) but was scratched on Thursday with a fever. The setback is untimely, given the Caspar Fownes-trained gelding needs to boost his rating of 69 to ensure he makes the Derby field. Chasing back-to-back Classic Cups after booting home Size's Helios Express 12 months ago, Bowman is hopeful Sky Trust can pass a distance test and make an impact in what shapes as a wide-open race. A two-time winner when racing on the speed earlier this campaign, Sky Trust has been ridden more conservatively on his past two starts over 1,400m with the Classic Series in mind. Protest upheld! Sky Trust crosses the line first, however, it's Winning Gold and @KarisTeetan who lift the finale... #LoveRacing | #HKracing — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) February 9, 2025 The Fownes-trained gelding rocketed home from near last to run a close second to Bundle Award before crossing the line first last start but being demoted to second on objection after causing interference to Winning Gold. 'He's certainly got the talent, but I think the distance is a little bit of a query,' Bowman said. 'That's probably the case for half the field, to be brutally honest. It's a real help that he's drawn so soft [in barrier two] because he can get so aggressive. 'I've said it before, I have to sort of bury him out of the barriers but by drawing that gate, I won't have to wrestle him back to last to get cover. I'll be able to find the back of something and once he relaxes, he's really easy, but you've got to force the issue for him to settle. 'He's getting better with each run and he's a horse on the rise.' Bowman feels a potential lack of speed could help Sky Trust handle his first attempt at 1,800m. The first two in running in the Classic Mile, Glory Elite and Lucy In The Sky, have bypassed the Classic Cup, which leaves Californiatotality and Noisy Boy as the likely pace influences. Bowman also believes the Classic Cup might not prove to be the key form reference for the city's most prestigious race on March 23. 'I think the horses that feature in the Classic Cup will struggle when it comes to the Derby. I might be wrong, you never know,' he said.
