Exultant did all the dirty work and bravely held off Furore to post a three-quarter-length win in the Group 1, $3.23 million Queen Elizabeth II Cup on Sunday at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong.
The coronavirus pandemic prevented Southern Legend from traveling to Singapore from Kong Kong to try and win his third straight Kranji Cup. Instead, he stayed home and denied Beauty Generation his third straight Champions Mile – but just barely.
Antilia won consecutive starts for the first time in her career, taking minor handicaps in Australia in March, and had that winning streak interrupted by a narrow loss in a one-mile handicap on April 7. Antilia was beaten only a neck in that race, a promising performance that makes her the horse to beat in a handicap at about seven furlongs at Grafton Racecourse in Australia on Monday.
Hong Kong selections for Sha Tin on Sunday, April 26, 2020.
The countryside meeting at Tamworth Racecourse, and an appearance in Sunday’s $102,080 Tamworth Showcase Cup, may be a better fit for McCormack than a trip he took to Sydney for the $255,200 Provincial Championship earlier this month at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Australia.
Beauty Generation and Waikuku are the principals in the $2.58 million Champions Mile, one of three Group 1s at Sha Tin Racecourse Sunday, along with the Queen Elizabeth II Cup and the Chairman's Sprint Prize, on a 10-race program. First post for card is 12:45 a.m. Eastern.
Declan Schuster's Hong Kong selections and analysis for Sunday, April 26, 2020 at Sha Tin.
Live racing will return in France starting on May 11, though without spectators and with bans on shippers from other racing jurisdictions, the country’s racing authority announced on Wednesday.
The most appealing aspect of the three Group 3 races on Saturday at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney, Australia, is the competitive nature of the contests.
Loving Miss will be favored to win her second consecutive start in the Queensland Thoroughbred Incentive Scheme Handicap for Southern Hemisphere juveniles at seven furlongs at Gold Coast Racecourse on Friday.
