Charlatan, Knicks Go, and Max Player are headed back to the United States from Saudi Arabia later this week, while Sleepy Eyes Todd, Tacitus, Channel Maker, and Cowan have gone on from Saudi Arabia to Dubai.
Declan Schuster's Hong Kong Selections and Analysis for Wednesday, February 24, 2021 at Happy Valley.
Golden Sixty made it 13 straight wins, but only by the narrowest of margins as he got home by a nose Sunday at Sha Tin in the Group 1, $1.55 million Hong Kong Gold Cup.
Cafe Pharoah earned a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 6 at Del Mar with an attractive win in Sunday’s Group 1 February Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse in Japan.
Veteran horses will be ridden by young jockeys in the sixth race at Bendigo Racecourse in Australia on Tuesday. The sprint, run at 6 1/2 furlongs, is restricted to apprentice riders and lacks a clear favorite in a full field of 12.
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.
