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.
Fourteen horses were entered Wednesday for the second renewal of the $20 million Saudi Cup on Saturday at King Abdulaziz Racecourse outside Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Even with well-backed McKinzie failing to fire, American-based horses dominated the 2020 Saudi Cup, finishing first, second, fourth, and fifth, and this year's American shippers, led by Knicks Go and Charlatan, are widely considered the principal players again this year.
Stakes racing abounds on the Thursday seven-race card at Meydan, with five group races included on the seven-race card.
Class 3 handicaps, four of them, abound on the Happy Valley card on Wednesday in Hong Kong. Races 5, 6, 8, and 9 all are Class 3s for horses rated 80-60. The eighth and ninth are contested over 1,200 meters, race 5 is 1,650 meters, all standard Happy Valley distances, but race 6 is an unusual one, 2,200 meters around three turns.
Derek Leung has been in fine form recently with five wins from the last three race meetings and this Wednesday (17 February) at Happy Valley he is looking to maintain his momentum with a full book of nine rides as he eyes a new personal best.
Hong Kong Selections for Wednesday, February 17, 2021 at Happy Valley.
