Winx, Australia’s leading horse, was the cozy winner of Saturday’s Group 1 George Main Stakes at a mile on turf at Royal Randwick Racecourse outside of Sydney. The $373,300 George Main Stakes was the 11th consecutive win for Winx.
Sunday at Sha Tin, Bad Boy will have his first start of the new season in the $225,567 Yeung UK Handicap at five furlongs on turf. Bad Boy is part of a field of 14 and needs the race, trainer John Moore insists.
Andrew Hawkins' Hong Kong selections and analysis: Sept. 18, 2016
Winx, Australia’s leading horse, can extend her winning streak to 11 races when she starts as an overwhelming favorite in Saturday’s Group 1 George Main Stakes at a mile on turf at Royal Randwick, outside of Sydney.
Joseph O’Brien, son of leading trainer Aidan O’Brien, won the first Group 1 of his career as a trainer when 25-1 Intricately finished a nose in front of the Aidan O’Brien-trained Hydrangea, a 7-1 shot who set the pace.
The Japanese 3-year-old Makahiki won the Group 2 Prix Niel on Sunday at Chantilly, taking a solid step toward his major goal this fall, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on Oct. 2.
Astern, an Australian-bred colt by Medaglia d’Oro, won the first Group 1 race of his career in Saturday’s $767,200 Golden Rose Stakes for 3-year-olds at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse near Sydney, Australia.
Brett Davis' and Paul Lally's selections for Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016, at Sha Tin.
The Prix Vermeille for fillies is the lone Group 1 prep race for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on the Sunday card at Chantilly, but it is the Group 2 Prix Niel for 3-year-olds that will attract the most attention. The race features the European debut of Makahiki, the latest Japanese horse in France to try and win the Arc.
The group stakes winners Brave Anna and Rhododendron are part of trainer Aidan O'Brien's deep four-runner team in Sunday's Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at The Curragh in Ireland, a race that could have implications for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 4.
