Andrew Hawkins' selections for Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016, at Sha Tin.
Race 1
#2 Happy Sound
#4 Silver Gatsby
#10 Seasons King
Race 2
#8 Glory Sunshine
#10 Plain Blue Banner
#1 Hay Go Lucky
Race 3
#5 Blizzard
#6 Lucky Year
#7 Born In China
Race 4
#6 C P Power
#10 Peace Combination
#7 Perpetual Joyance
Race 5
#4 Team Sweet
#3 Divine Diya
#1 Run Forrest
Black Heart Bart confirmed his status as one of Australia’s top sprinters with a victory in Saturday’s $378,150 Memsie Stakes at Caulfield Racecourse against a field that included Prince of Penzance, the winner of the famous Melbourne Cup last November.
Prince of Penzance finished 11th of 12 in the seven-furlong race, a shorter distance than the marathons at which he excels.
The Memsie Stakes was the first Group 1 race of the 2016-17 Australian season.
Siljan’s Saga can become the first horse in nine years to win consecutive runnings of the $224,520 Grand Prix de Deauville when she faces three male rivals in the turf marathon on Sunday at Deauville Racecourse in France.
A 5-year-old mare, Siljan’s Saga is winless in six starts since the 2015 Grand Prix de Deauville, a span that includes an eighth-place finish in the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe last October. More recently, Siljan’s Saga was third against males in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud on July 3.
Prince of Penzance, the upset winner of the Melbourne Cup last November at 100-1, will start as a longshot in Saturday’s Memsie Stakes at Caulfield Racecourse in Australia, the first start of a spring campaign geared toward the Melbourne Cup on Nov. 1.
Prince of Penzance will be ridden for the first time by Harry Coffey, a replacement for Michelle Payne. Last year, Payne made history as the first woman to win the Melbourne Cup. She was injured in a spill in May and has yet to return to riding.
Blue Point won the first stakes of his brief career and moved to the fore of the British 2-year-old division with a three-length win in Saturday’s $262,860 Gimcrack Stakes for colts and geldings at York Racecourse.
The 11-8 favorite in a field of 10, Blue Point was always near the front in the Group 2, six-furlong race on a straightaway turf course. He took the lead in the final quarter-mile under jockey William Buick and won comfortably over Mokarris, a minor stakes winner at Newbury Racecourse last month.
The Last Lion, a 14-1 shot, finished third.
In two races on two continents, Lady Aurelia was unbeatable in the spring.
After winning a maiden race at Keeneland by 7 1/2 lengths in April, Lady Aurelia cruised to an impressive win by seven lengths in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at Royal Ascot in June.
Her next objective is France’s top August race for 2-year-olds – Sunday’s $395,990 Prix Morny for colts and fillies at six furlongs at Deauville Racecourse. As of Friday, Lady Aurelia was as low as 1-3 with some European bookmakers to win the Group 1 race against four rivals.
Blue Point lost his unbeaten record with a second by a neck in the Group 2 Richmond Stakes at Goodwood Racecourse in England on July 27. The loss did not dent the long-term expectations for trainer Charlie Appleby and owner Godolphin Racing.
“I think experience caught us out there,” Appleby said in late July on Godolphin’s website. “Blue Point will come forward for that. He is still a very talented horse.”
Seventh Heaven led an Aidan O’Brien-trained sweep of the top two placings Thursday in the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks at York Racecourse, beating her favored stablemate, Found, by 2 3/4 lengths. Queen’s Trust finished third, and another O’Brien-trained filly, Pretty Perfect, was fourth, and none of these fillies is even rated the top female in the O’Brien stable, a position presently occupied by Minding.
Limato, the winner of the Group 1 July Cup last month, is a mild favorite to win Friday’s $445,400 Nunthorpe Stakes at York Racecourse in northern England, a race that could have implications for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Santa Anita in November.
The Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes is part of the Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In program, offering a fees-paid berth for the winner in the BC Turf Sprint, if the winner is nominated to the program.