Paul Lally: 
R1 10-11-8-6 
R2 4-3-2-7 
R3 2-4-3-1 
R4 1-4-13-5 
R5 6-12-4-8 
R6 6-9-1-11 
R7 8-1-3-11 
R8 10-9-11-8 
R9 8-10-2-3 
R10 4-2-9-1 
Best Bet R10 N4 Chancheng Glory 
Longshot R6 N6 Speedy Smartie 
Play R4 QQP 1-4-13 

Huetor, winner of the Group 1 Doomben Cup in Australia in May, will lug topweight of 132 pounds in the Group 3 Summer Cup at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on Monday evening.

While the assignment is hefty, Huetor has left clues in his last two starts that he is ready for a peak effort in the $169,900 Summer Cup, which is run at 1 1/4 miles and drew a field of 11.

There are familiar rivals in a seven-furlong handicap at Tamworth Racecourse in Australia on Saturday evening.

Arrabbiata, an intriguing outsider, beat Macleay by three-quarters of a length in a handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs at Armidale Racecourse on Dec. 3. They have a rematch at Tamworth.

For Macleay, the Armidale race was his first start since Christmas Eve 2022 and may have been an ideal prep for this weekend’s race. Macleay was the 2-1 favorite in early betting as of Friday.

The older horse division in Japan needs a new leader following the recent retirement of Equinox, the superstar who won the Grade 1 Japan Cup in his farewell start last month.

Sunday’s Grade 1 Arima Kinen at Nakayama Racecourse will establish some ranking for the group as 2024 approaches. Finding the winner in a field of 16 in the $6.7 million Arima Kinen will not be easy, but the season-ending classic should be a dandy betting race.

Paul Lally: 
R1 2-1-9-3 
R2 4-1-9-6 
R3 1-10-8-11 
R4 13-10-3-6 
R5 6-2-4-8 
R6 10-2-9-13 
R7 4-10-2-8 
R8 2-3-6-10 
R9 3-4-7-1 
R10 6-2-4-14 
Best Bet R6 N10 Fighting Machine 
Longshot R5 N6 Can’t Go Wong 
Play R3 QQP 1-8-10 

:: Hong Kong: Free PPs, picks, analysis, replays, and live streaming

By Leo Schlink

For almost as long as he can remember, David Eustace has craved an opportunity to train in Hong Kong. As of next season, a dream becomes reality for the well-travelled young Englishman, who boasts strong family links to the city’s racing community.

As the nephew of former Hong Kong-based horseman David Oughton, Eustace’s formative horse racing memories were filled almost as much by his uncle’s globe-trotting exploits as those of his Newmarket-based father, James, who was also a trainer.

The fashionably-bred colt Storm Boy will have his stakes debut in the Group 3 Magic Millions B.J. McLachlan Stakes for Southern Hemisphere 2-year-olds at Eagle Farm Racecourse in Brisbane, Australia, on Friday evening.

Expectations are high that Storm Boy is the sort of Southern Hemisphere 2-year-old that could appear in major stakes in coming months, notably the Group 1 Golden Slipper Stakes, the richest race for juveniles in the world on March 23 at Rosehill Gardens in Sydney. The Golden Slipper will have a purse of approximately $3.36 million in 2024.

SHA TIN SELECTIONS
(Saturday, December 23, 2023) 

Course conditions and a light weight assignment may work in favor of the 5-year-old mare Dream Inherit in a one-mile handicap at Wagga Wagga Racecourse in Australia on Thursday evening.

Dream Inherit has won 2 of her last 4 starts, and 4 of 20 races in her career. The recent wins offer clues that Dream Inherit can score a minor upset in a field of nine at Wagga Wagga in the fifth race on a nine-race program that begins at 9:30 p.m. Eastern or 6:30 p.m. Pacific.

Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

By Declan Schuster

Trainer Danny Shum will give Romantic Warrior a short break with a view to returning in the G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) on 25 February, 2024 at Sha Tin, opting against a potential rematch with Golden Sixty in the G1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m) on 21 January.