HONG KONG – Almond Eye and Beauty Generation were supposed to anchor the 2019 Hong Kong International Races, and while it’s unfair to say Sunday’s four Group 1’s at Sha Tin have been cast adrift and are sinking, the ship definitely has taken on some water. Beauty Generation began his 2019-2020 Hong Kong season winning his 10th race in a row and in mid-October looked like he had a strong chance to capture his third straight Hong Kong Mile on the HKIR card. Instead, he’ll come into Sunday’s race after two third-place finishes, one of 10 horses expected to contest the Mile but lacking the air of invincibility he carried at the start of the local racing season. As for Almond Eye, the Japanese 4-year-old filly superstar was set to be the hottest Hong Kong racing attraction in recent history until an ill-timed fever this past weekend caused her connections to pull her out of quarantine and pass the Hong Kong Cup, where Almond Eye would’ve been an odds-on favorite. Instead of Almond Eye, winner of the Japan Cup and the Dubai Turf, among a passel of other Group 1’s, the fine mare Deirdre is the most accomplished among the horses who shipped over the weekend from Japan to Hong Kong. Deirdre finished second in the 2018 HK Cup over about 1 1/4 miles and Sunday is set to contest the Hong Kong Vase over about 1 1/2 miles. Her 2019 European campaign yielded a win in the Group 1 Nassau Stakes for females and most recently a third-place finish behind victorious Magical in the Group 1 Champion Stakes. Other Japanese shippers here are Win Bright for the Cup; Indy Champ, Persian Knight, Nomcore, and Admire Mars in the Mile; Glory Vase and Lucky Lilac in the Vase; and Danon Splash in the Sprint. Aidan O’Brien, a regular at the HKIR, has Magic Wand for the Cup and Mount Everest and Anthony Van Dyck for the Vase. The remarkable Magic Wand this season has traveled to Dubai, twice to America, made four starts in Europe, and raced three times this autumn in Australia, winning a Group 1 there in her most recent start. Anthony Van Dyck comes into Sunday’s race after a troubled third in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. The other European shippers are Edisa, who won the Jockey Club Oaks Invitational on Sept. 7 at Belmont, in the Cup; the Michael Stoute-trained Zaaki in the Mile; and as many as five more runners, headed by Group 1 winner Aspetar, in the Vase. All the European shippers, Anthony Van Dyck included, face a formidable Hong Kong-based foe in Exultant, who won the 2018 Vase and comes into this year’s renewal at the top of his game. Waikuku and Urban Aspect finished in front of Beauty Generation in the local HK Mile prep, and Waikuku could be a star in the making – provided Beauty Generation’s star doesn’t rise again. And this year’s edition of the Sprint is a strong one, headed by Aethero, Hot King Prawn, Beat the Clock, and Full of Beauty. :: Hong Kong: Free PPs, picks, and analysis