The Group 3 National Day Cup at five furlongs on turf at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong on Oct. 1 was too tough for Fabulous One, the 7-year-old gelding. He set the pace before fading to finish last of seven. Wednesday’s $249,019 Verbena Handicap at five furlongs on turf at Happy Valley is a better fit.
Andrew Hawkins' Hong Kong Selections and Analysis for Wednesday, October 10 at Happy Valley.
Godolphin, trainer Charlie Appleby, and jockey William Buick won the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar with Wuheida, and the same connections will have one of the favorites for the 2018 Filly and Mare Turf at Churchill Downs after Wild Illusion took down the Group 1 Prix de l’Opera on Sunday at Longchamp.
Royal Marine won the Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere for 2-year-olds after Lily’s Candle launched Sunday’s Arc de Triomphe card at Longchamp with a narrow victory in the Group 1 Prix Marcel-Boussac.
In midwinter, Enable began stretching her legs, taking small steps toward her 4-year-old season, her campaign eagerly anticipated following a brilliant 3-year-old year capped by a win in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Winter turned to spring, and Enable’s luck turned south. Injured, she was taken out of training as her connections took a wait-and-see approach toward the rest of the year.
Selections for Sunday's card at Sha Tin.
With Happily bearing down and closing in, Laurens was happy to see the wire Saturday at Newmarket, but in the end, Laurens had closed the deal on her fifth Group 1 win in the Sun Chariot Stakes.
On Thursday evening, Winx was honored as Australia’s 2017-18 Horse of the Year for a record-equaling third time. On Saturday at Flemington Racecourse in Flemington, Winx progressed toward a fourth such title with a dramatic win in the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes, her 28th consecutive win.
Wild Illusion is back in France for Sunday's Group 1 Prix de l'Opera on the Arc undercard at renovated Longchamp Racecourse in Paris. The Prix de l'Opera is one of six Group 1 races for Thoroughbreds on the program.
The Breeders' Cup has a turf race restricted to fillies and mares. In France, the female set needs no such restriction. A filly has won the richest race in Europe, the Group 1, $5.77 million Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, in six of the past seven years, a trend that bettors, at least, expect to continue Sunday at Longchamp.
