Soul Choice, a three-time winner who races for prominent North American owner Charles Fipke, will have her first start since April in a one-mile handicap for fillies and mares at Warwick Farm Racecourse in Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday evening.
Judging from Soul Choice’s campaign earlier this year, the Warwick Farm race is a prep for stakes in coming months.
By Leo Schlink
Hugh Bowman continued an impressive start to the 2023/24 season with a treble at Sha Tin on Sunday (17 September) as Angus Chung, Ellis Wong and Jerry Chau figured strongly to underline the potential of Hong Kong’s home-grown jockey pool.
Bowman boosted his tally to six wins for the season to lead six-time champion Zac Purton (four) and Luke Ferraris (three) after slotting a winning treble, a second, two thirds, a fourth and a fifth from eight rides.
With two wins in his last four starts, Oh No Bro has never been sharper in his 23-race career in Australia.
A 6-year-old gelding, Oh No Bro’s recent wins have come at one of the lower levels of the handicap division, a group he faces again in a one-mile handicap at Narromine Racecourse on Monday evening.
The only reason Oh No Bro’s weight assignment has not soared because of his recent success is the occasional booking of apprentice jockeys.
The opportunity for a surprise win came and went for the Australian gelding Don’t Thinkaboutit when he finished a close second at 30-1 in a handicap at Queanbeyan Racecourse on Sept. 4.
The 5-year-old gelding’s backers must settle for a drastically shorter price when Don’t Thinkaboutit starts as a likely favorite in a seven-furlong handicap at Nowra Racecourse on Saturday evening.
Don’t Thinkaboutit was 3-1 in early betting, a slight choice over Lady Tabloid and Snappy Jim at 7-2 and Cartography at 4-1.
By Leo Schlink
Sidelined with serious injury during Hong Kong racing’s off-season, Vincent Ho hopes Dream Winner can provide the perfect return to competition when Frankie Lor’s unbeaten sprinter contests the Class 2 Causeway Bay Handicap (1000m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (17 September).
Sprinters in Sydney and milers in Melbourne highlight racing at Royal Randwick and Flemington racecourses on Friday night in Australia.
Both tracks have major stakes with former American runners.
The 4-year-old Australian-bred filly In Secret will be favored to win the Group 2 Shorts Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs at Randwick. Trained by James Cummings for Godolphin Racing, In Secret won the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap at six furlongs at Flemington in March and was later seventh in the Group 1 T.J. Smith Stakes at Randwick in April.
