Hong Kong: Silver Express returns at Sha Tin
What happens when a horse is scratched from a race in North America? Bettors hardly can know. The specific reason for the scratch and how the horse is handled after it fall outside public view. Things are different in Hong Kong. Take Silver Express, the top-rated horse in the co-featured 10th race Sunday at Sha Tin.
Silver Express was scratched the last time he was entered, back on Jan. 23. The race still shows up on his form lines, and the published stewards’ report at the bottom of the results page on the HKJC website details the reason for his scratch – “lame left fore.” The HKJC collects daily training reports from every horse that exercises at Sha Tin, and these, too, are easily accessible. Click on Silver Express’s and you can see that trainer John Size had Silver Express back trotting (what we would call jogging) four days after the scratch.
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Scroll up the page and the shape of Size’s plan to return Silver Express to racing becomes clear. Regular trots and swims are punctuated by “gallops,” what we’d call workouts. When Silver Express worked in company, the name of the horse is published next to the fractional and final work times. In this case, we can see Size gradually increasing the speed of the works, and as Silver Express moves forward, his workmate changes from Ping Hai Star to Waikuku, the latter a Group 1 winner.
Silver Express hits the right level and Size runs him in a barrier trial, what we call a training race (these are all but extinct in America). Another click brings up barrier trial video. Silver Express runs in three of them, going a little harder each time. It’s time to race again, and bettors can see that Silver Express very much looks ready.
Of course, it’s not so simple in Hong Kong, where the handicap system levels the playing field. This is a Class 2 handicap open to horses rated 100-80 and carded for 1,400 meters, about seven furlongs. Silver Express, who had a productive 4-year-old campaign last Hong Kong season, won a Class 1 over 1,600 meters on Nov. 28, helped by carrying just 114 pounds that day. Now he must tote 133, including jockey Zac Purton. Silver Express looks prepared for a representative performance, but Navas Two gets 13 pounds from Silver Express and might be able to beat him.
Navas Two has been very unlucky drawing posts: On Feb. 12, he broke from the 12 hole, on March 20 he had post 14, and Sunday he’s saddled with post 13. That makes things tough, but Navas Two is back at what looks like his best distance after racing over 1,200 meters last out and 1,600 two races back. The 1,600-meter contest might have been a touch too far, but Navas Two ran well. He did have cover but was stuck out three wide the entire turn, making a wide stretch run that carried him almost to the lead in midstretch. Then Navas Two flattened out slightly, but not as much as every other horse who was anywhere close to the front with 400 meters to run. The race was dominated by horses making the last run, and Navas Two was solid.
Last out, with no good options from the wide draw, regular rider Ruan Maia dropped his mount to last of 14. Maia stoked Navas Two up for a run with about 500 meters to run, but turning for home was stuck between two horses, unable to wriggle into the clear until about 300 meters remained. Once he had room, Navas Two finished with great energy to get third, and if any kind of trip can be engineered Sunday, he should have a chance to win.
Co-featured race 7 is another Class 2 for horses rated 100-80, this one carded for a straight 1,000 meters, about five furlongs. Nervous Witness tops the ratings at 94 after HKJC handicappers raised his rating a massive 12 points following a 3 ¼-length win March 9. Carrying 130 pounds, Nervous Witness still pounded Class 3 rivals, winning for the third time in six starts this season.
Zac Purton, battling for leading rider this season, rode Nervous Witness last out but Sunday the mount is Blake Shinn’s. Purton lands on Stoltz, who won two in a row at Happy Valley earlier this season. His last two races came over 1,200 meters at Sha Tin – too much distance, it appears. Stoltz returns to his preferred 1,000 meters and gets seven pounds from Nervous Witness.
First post for this 10-race card is 1 a.m. Eastern. Watch and wager at DRFBets.com.