Get the Idea was beaten less than a half-length when he finished third in a handicap at Warwick Farm Racecourse in Australia on Dec. 23. The result was better than it looked. Wednesday at Warwick Farm, Get the Idea starts in a similar race.
Declan Schuster's Hong Kong Selections and Analysis for Wednesday, January 6, 2021 at Happy Valley.
John Size’s decision to bypass Hong Kong’s lucrative LONGINES Hong Kong International Races was vindicated handsomely when Champion’s Way ended an 18-month drought by snaring the G3 Chinese Club Challenge Cup Handicap (1400m) at Sha Tin this afternoon (Friday, 1 January).
Caspar Fownes’ chance with the lowly rated Explosive Witness (113lb) paid off at Sha Tin today (Friday, 1 January) as the Australian-bred exceeded expectations to snare the HK$3.5 million G3 Bauhinia Sprint Trophy Handicap (1000m).
Shamusu Sho had the best span of his career from late March to late June, winning 3 of 5 starts in Australia. He has yet to recapture that form in recent races, but there are signs of improvement. Sunday, Shamusu Sho starts in the Gilgandra Cup at tiny Gilgandra Racecourse in the New South Wales countryside.
Truly Great will start at 1 1/2 miles for the first time in the Group 2 Perth Stakes at Ascot on Saturday. Considering the style of his last two wins, stalking the pace to the final furlong, there is little reason to believe the longer trip in the Perth Cup will be an issue.
Hong Kong Selections for Friday, January 1, 2021 at Sha Tin.
Winning Dreamer is unbeaten in six career starts but surely will be tested Friday at Sha Tin in the Group 3, $450,000 Chinese Club Challenge Cup.
Far from dismayed with Computer Patch’s recent 1200m form at elite level, Tony Cruz is banking on the former Australian galloper’s drop to 1000m for the G3 Bauhinia Sprint Trophy Handicap as a decisive change of approach.
Graff, a 5-year-old Australian-bred horse, won his first group-level stakes in the Group 2 Caulfield Stakes at five furlongs on Oct. 17 in Melbourne, Australia, only to finish sixth in the Group 1 VRC Classic at Flemington Racecourse on Nov. 7. Graff starts in Friday’s Group 3 Standish Handicap at six furlongs at Flemington, which would seem to be an ideal drop in class from those starts.
