By Leo Schlink

Francis Lui accelerated a blistering start to the season with a Sha Tin treble crowned by Stoltz’s courageous victory in the HK$4.2 million G3 National Day Cup Handicap (1000m) to extend his lead at the top of the Hong Kong trainers’ championship on Sunday (1 October).

Stoltz was the third leg of Lui’s three-timer after earlier victories by Moduleconstruction and Chancheng Glory to leave the veteran handler with 11 wins for the campaign, three clear of nearest pursuer Caspar Fownes (eight) and Pierre Ng (seven).

The 4-year-old filly Mama Cocha won for the second time in her last three starts, and in her debut in a Grade 1, in Sunday’s $2.2 million Sprinters Stakes at six furlongs at Nakayama Racecourse in Japan.

Ridden by Yuga Kawada for trainer Yasutoshi Ikee, Mama Cocha ($10.20 in American pools) closed from seventh in a field of 16 to win by a nose after a duel with 14-1 Mad Cool in the final sixteenth.

Mama Cocha rallied wide to reach contention in the stretch. She was the second choice behind 8-5 Namura Clair, who finished third by a length.

Blue Rose Cen rebounded from two losses Sunday at Longchamp to win the Prix de l’Opera by a neck over Jackie Oh, the 3-year-old filly’s fourth Group 1 success and third this year. 

The 4-year-old filly Deep Shimmer had a bad day at Goulburn Racecourse in Australia last month. As the 2-1 favorite in a five-furlong handicap, Deep Shimmer never traveled well, jockey Alysha Collett later told stewards.

Deep Shimmer finished last of nine.

A month later, Deep Shimmer returns to Goulburn for the same kind of race, a low-level five-furlong handicap on Monday evening. Since the loss at Goulburn on Sept. 8, Deep Shimmer has finished first of seven in a schooling race from the gate at 4 1/2 furlongs at Canberra on Sept. 23.

Ace Impact answered all questions and punctuated his response with an exclamation point by storming to a 1 3/4-length victory Sunday at Longchamp in the $5.29 million Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.  

The 3-year-old who had never raced beyond 1 5/16 miles before Sunday was making his first start at Longchamp, and while he’d romped in the French Derby this summer, Ace Impact was taking on far stronger competition than he’d previously encountered. 

Just Fine confirmed his status as a leading contender for the Group 1 Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse in Australia on Nov. 7 with a vital win in the Group 1 Metropolitan Stakes at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on Saturday.

Just Fine ($2.80) needed a win in the $481,425 Metropolitan Stakes at 1 1/2 miles to qualify for the $4.97 million Melbourne Cup at two miles. Conditions for the Melbourne Cup state that horses must finish in the first three in group races at 1 7/16 miles or farther to be eligible.

Vandeek ran his record to four wins from four starts and was the most visually impressive 2-year-old stakes winner Saturday at Newmarket Racecourse in England, but the filly Porta Fortuna clocked a faster six-furlong time than Vandeek, and for the purposes of American racing holds more interest this fall. 

Vandeek, described by jockey James Doyle as purely a sprinter, burst between rivals with a furlong-and-a-half remaining and went on to a 2 1/4-length victory in the Group 1 Middle Park.

Carla’s Way ran off to a 2 1/4-length victory over favored Shuwari in the Group 2 Rockfel Stakes on Friday at Newmarket and might well have run herself into a start in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. 

An 8-year-old who has not won since April, Ruban Bleu can end a five-race losing streak in the Cootamundra Cup at a mile at tiny Cootamundra Racecourse in Australia on Saturday evening.

Ruban Bleu, a winner of 6 of 56 starts, has had a few encouraging results in recent races despite the losses. A gelding, Ruban Bleu was second by a length in the minor Forbes Cup at a mile on Aug. 6, and fourth by three lengths after racing in traffic on the turn of a seven-furlong handicap at Canberra on Sept. 15.

An inside post may pose a tactical challenge for the four-time stakes winner Namura Clair in the Grade 1 Sprinters Stakes at Nakayama Racecourse in Japan on Sunday.

Namura Clair drew the rail in a field of 16. While the 4-year-old filly tends to run from off the pace, she will need a clean trip under jockey Suguru Hamanaka to win for the first time in her sixth appearance in a Grade 1 in the $2.2 million Sprinters Stakes at six furlongs.