A nine-race Wednesday card at Happy Valley Racecourse in Hong Kong ends with three Class 3 handicaps, the last of them with a subtle if important distinction.
Last June, Samoot finished second of 21 as the 5-1 favorite in the Sandringham Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Royal Ascot in England. Nearly a year later, Samoot is quickly establishing a reputation as a filly to watch in Australia. Samoot won her debut in that country in a handicap at 6 1/4 furlongs at Canterbury Park on Feb. 25 and will be favored to win her second start in a seven-furlong handicap on the infield Kensington course at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on Wednesday.
Tuesday, Honeysuckle will be an odds-on favorite to become the first mare to win two runnings of the $586,200 Champion Hurdle. A win would stretch her unbeaten record to 15 races.
A slow start and a wide trip cost Maui in a six-furlong handicap at Sale Racecourse in Australia last month in his first race in 11 months. Eliminating either of those setbacks may result in a win for Maui in a handicap at 7 1/2 furlongs at Ballarat Racecourse on Tuesday.
It is obvious a stakes is a big deal when it has its own public holiday. Monday is such a day in the state of South Australia in conjunction with the Group 2 Adelaide Cup at Morphettville Racecourse in Adelaide.
Lighthouse, a stakes winner at Kentucky Downs in 2020, won the first Group 1 race of her career in Saturday’s $441,600 Coolmore Classic for fillies and mares at 7 1/2 furlongs at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia.
An all-important prep race over the course may provide a winning boost for Sweet Ride in Sunday’s Group 3 Black Opal Stakes for Southern Hemisphere 2-year-olds at Canberra Racecourse in Australia.
The final score was 23 to 5. No, it was not a lopsided baseball result, but the number of Irish-trained winners versus the number of British-trained winners at the 28-race National Hunt Festival for chasers and hurdlers at Cheltenham Racecourse in the west of England last March.
Hong Kong Selections for Friday, March 11, 2022 at Sha Tin.
Declan Schuster's Hong Kong Selections and Analysis for Friday, March 11, 2022 at Sha Tin.
