The Narrandera Cup at tiny Narrandera Racecourse in Australia on Sunday will be the fourth meeting in the last year between the geldings Gentleman Max and Gunga Din. Their career paths leading to the one-mile race could not be more different.
Considering her winless race record in stakes in 2018 and early 2019, Jami Lady has made quite a turnaround in the last few months in the Australian winter.
Cayenne Pepper ran into the elite mare Magical in her most recent start, while Ennistymon hooked Love, who turned in an historically strong performance winning the Oaks at Epsom. The two fillies have one another with which to deal Saturday in the Group 1 Irish Oaks at The Curragh, but nothing like the beasts they encountered in their respective recent races.
Total handle generated by the Hong Kong Jockey Club over its recently concluded racing year was $15.8 billion, according to the HKJC, which administers all aspects of racing and betting in the Chinese province. The annual total was the third-highest posted by the HKJC.
The red-hot Absolute Artie, winner of three of his last five starts, will run in the richest race of his career as the favorite in Friday’s $59,500 Rockhampton Cup in Australia.
The first half of 2020 was a quiet stretch for Controlthewitness, the 3-year-old Australian-bred gelding who won four times in 2019. This year, Controlthewitness is winless in seven starts in Australia, including two second-place finishes and one third. His last two starts – a second in a handicap June 11 at Gosford and a third by 1 3/4 lengths on July 7 at Newcastle – suggest the losing streak can end in a handicap at 1 3/16 miles on Thursday at Gosford Racecourse.
A pair of Class 2 handicaps close out the Wednesday night card at Happy Valley Racecourse – as well as the 2019-2020 racing season in Hong Kong.
Since March, True Marvel has won 3 of 6 starts, with jockey Kathy O’Hara aboard for all three wins. On Wednesday, they will be reunited at Warwick Farm Racecourse in Sydney in a handicap at 1 3/8 miles.
Declan Schuster's Hong Kong selections and analysis for Wednesday, July 15, 2020 at Happy Valley.
It appears unlikely that a horse representing Japan will be in this year’s Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5.
