Fast Talking and Ready to Humble are in the midst of similar careers, reliable geldings racing at venues in the Australian countryside more often than at tracks in metropolitan Sydney. They meet for the first time in a race that is a good fit for both runners – Sunday’s $73,700 Dubbo City and Gilgandra Gold Cup at a mile at Dubbo Racecourse, about 250 miles from Sydney.
There are some very fine horses racing in the three Arc trials Sunday at Longchamp, but Snowfall is breathing different air than the rest of them right now.
Hong Kong Win, a 6-year-old Australian-bred gelding, finished the 2020-21 racing season in Hong Kong with sixth-, eighth-, and seventh-place finishes in sprint handicaps in June and July. Typically, such a record would not be very encouraging for Hong Kong Win’s seasonal reappearance in Sunday’s $308,522 Choi Hung Handicap at five furlongs on turf at Sha Tin Racecourse, but Hong Kong Win’s record of two wins in five starts following layoffs changes the outlook.
Mishriff, St. Mark’s Basilica, and Adayar share top billing in the latest release of the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings.
The Dubai Racing Club on Sept. 7 announced purse increases for the upcoming 2021-22 racing season in the United Arab Emirates. In a news release, the club said the 2022 Dubai World Cup card, scheduled for March 6, will offer total purses next year of $30.5 million and that all races on the program would be worth at least $1 million.
A staggeringly deep field in Saturday’s Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes at a mile at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia can be divided into two groups – contenders set for a peak effort and those returning from layoffs who are pointing for upcoming major races.
Tarnawa, winner of the 2020 Breeders' Cup Turf at Keeneland, and St. Mark's Basilica, the winner of the French Derby in June and two other Group 1 races this year, comprise half the field in Saturday's Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown Racecourse.
Declan Schuster's Hong Kong Selections and Analysis for Sunday, September 12, 2021 at Sha Tin.
A break during the Southern Hemisphere winter in recent months may be what Rainbiel needs to return to her form from this time last year. Friday at Swan Hill Racecourse, Rainbiel starts for the first time since May in a minor handicap at six furlongs that appears much easier than her appearances in high-level handicaps and group-level stakes earlier this year.
Last summer, the New Zealand-bred gelding Jukila won and finished second in two handicaps at the elongated distance of 1 15/16 miles in Australia. A durable sort, Jukila is winless in 18 starts in the last 13 months since that marathon win, but has finished second six times in that span. Thursday at Mornington Racecourse, Jukila is back in a handicap at about 1 15/16 miles with a longshot’s chance for an upset.
