The Griffin | Queen Mother Memorial Cup a rare event for Hong Kong's sparse staying stock

A rare Saturday meeting this weekend marks the beginning of the end of the Hong Kong season as the stayers step into the spotlight in the Queen Mother Memorial Cup.

There are still two months and 19 meetings left until the July 12 season finale, and there’s still plenty yet to unfold.

The trainers’ championship is still wide open, there are still overseas missions left for our horses in Singapore, Japan and the UK, and it remains to be seen how many winners Joao Moreira can knock up as he continues his Bradman-esque effort.

But the spring features are over and it’s now a countdown, for the end of the season always seems to be in sight once the stayers get the chance to step out for glory – a noteworthy event in itself, given staying events in Hong Kong are few and far between.

Thirteen runners will line up at the top of the Sha Tin straight on Saturday and for many of the owners their whole season has been geared towards the next three weeks.

Horses like Khaya, Bubble Chic and Wayfoong Express have been waiting for the suitable races, hoping that May is their time to shine. For the typically impatient owner, it is a test of resolve.

This weekend’s Group Three mile-and-a-half feature is one of only three pattern races over 2,400m, the other two being the Hong Kong Vase and the Champions & Chater Cup – meaning that two of them are run in May, and making for slim pickings for the rest of the season. The Queen Mother Memorial Cup is the only one of the three run under handicap conditions, and so it tends to attract a number of stayers on the way up.