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Nashwa, a two-time Group 1 winner last year at age 3, has not looked like the same horse in two starts this season, and she might not even be the best hope in her stable for the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes on Friday at Newmarket.
The string of appearances in modest races ends to an extent when, Smart Image runs in the Newmarket Handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs at Mackay Racecourse in the far northeast of the country Thursday evening.
Wins in the McKell Cup at 1 1/4 miles at Rosehill Gardens on June 17 and the Caloundra Cup at 1 1/2 miles at Sunshine Coast on July 1 have made Zoumon the favorite to record a third consecutive victory in the $133,000 Grafton Cup at 1 1/2 miles at Grafton Racecourse on Wednesday evening.
The Australian gelding Far Too Easy is undefeated in three starts at Grafton Racecourse, part of a successful career that includes seven wins in 16 starts. A perfect record at Grafton boosts Far Too Easy’s chances for his first career stakes win in the $133,400 Ramornie Handicap at six furlongs on Tuesday evening.
Declan Schuster's Hong Kong Selections and Analysis for Wednesday, July 12, 2023 at Happy Valley.
Good Guess was 24-1 in the Group 1 Prix Jean Prat on Sunday at Deauville Racecourse in France but won like an odds-on favorite, bursting into the clear inside the final quarter-mile and going on to a three-length victory.
The Australian filly Sheila has such a stout late kick that she may be impossible to hold off in a five-furlong handicap at Wagga Wagga Racecourse on Monday evening.
Paddington gave trainer Aidan O’Brien a record seventh career win in Saturday’s Grade 1 Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Racecourse near London, also a milestone race for the world-class 3-year-old colt.
An outside rally may be all the 4-year-old gelding Chowdah needs to end a three-race losing streak in a one-mile handicap at Dubbo Racecourse in Australia on Sunday evening.
A three-time winner in Britain in 2022, Space Tracker was third by a neck in his June 3 debut in Australia and second by slightly more than a length June 17.
