True Self, an 8-year-old mare ridden by a female jockey, the Englishwoman Hollie Doyle, rallied from the rear of the field and ran down American champion Channel Maker to win the $1.5 million Neom Turf Cup, the first race on the Saudi Cup card Saturday at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Saudi Arabia.
There are three important races Sunday in Hong Kong but one horse rises above the rest, Golden Sixty, who will be heavily favored to extend his winning streak to 13 when he starts in the Group 1, $1.55 million Hong Kong Gold Cup.
The post position draw for Sunday’s Grade 1 February Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse in Japan was not kind to the recent stakes winner Auvergne and Red le Zele. In a full field of 16, Auvergne and Red le Zele will start from posts 14 and 16 in the one-mile dirt race.
American-based jockeys John Velazquez and Umberto Rispoli were unable to travel to Saudi Arabia, where they were scheduled to ride horses in the $20 million Saudi Cup on Saturday.
Trainers Doug Watson and Charlie Appleby scored stakes doubles on the Thursday card at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai. Watson trained the winner of the Group 3, $125,000 UAE Oaks, Mnasek, and sent out Al Tariq to an upset in the Group 3, $130,000 Al Shindagha Sprint. While Watson’s successes came on dirt, Appleby ruled the turf, as D’Bai was a narrow winner of the Group 2, $163,000 Zabeel Mile and Summer Romance comfortably captured the Group 2, $163,000 Balanchine Stakes.
The ultimate goal is the $5 million Sheema Classic over 12 furlongs on March 27 in Dubai, but for starters, Channel Maker runs Saturday at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Saudi Arabia in the 1 5/16-mile, $1 million Middle Distance Turf Cup.
Danny Shum is considering an audacious tilt at the HK$24 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) in March with Charity Fun after the Irish import’s stunning victory in the Class 3 Hung To Handicap (2200m) at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (17 February).
Declan Schuster's Hong Kong Selections and Analysis for Sunday, February 21, 2021 at Sha Tin.
Unbeaten in two Group 3 stakes in October and January, the highly touted filly Enthaar will have her Group 1 debut in Saturday’s $1.16 million Blue Diamond Stakes for Southern Hemisphere 2-year-olds at Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia. The all-stakes, nine-race card begins at 10:40 p.m. Eastern, or 7:40 p.m. Pacific, on Friday.
All due respect to the other dozen in the field, but the race for $20 million probably comes down to just two. Knicks Go and Charlatan have never met, and the $20 million Saudi Cup is just one year old, but that's the compelling faceoff at, shall we say, center sand Saturday night at King Abdulaziz Racecourse outside Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
