Paul Lally:
R1 5-2-3-8
R2 3-5-9-2
R3 3-1-5-2
R4 5-9-4-3
R5 4-9-2-10
R6 1-5-8-7
R7 6-2-5-8
R8 4-10-1-11
Best Bet R7 N6 Heroic Master
Longshot R8 N4 Excellent Peers
Play R3 QQP1-3-5
Tom Wood:
R1: 2-3-5-8
R2: 3-2-1-5
R3: 5-1-3-4
R4: 9-3-4-6
R5: 4-2-1-9
R6: 8-2-7-6
R7: 3-6-5-4
R8: 10-1-11-5
BEST: R3 N5 MEGA BONUS (WIN)
VALUE: R4 N9 SHINKANSEN (EW)
PLAY: R8 QQP 1,10,11
Mark McNamara:
By Declan Schuster
Aiming to build on his first 50-win season in Hong Kong, jockey Lyle Hewitson heads into Wednesday’s (13 September) eight-race card primed to reunite with One For All in a cracking Class 3 Mui Wo Handicap (1200m).
Happy Valley’s first fixture of the season marks the start of the DBS x Manulife Million Challenge, which runs until 21 February, 2024. The competition is for horses racing in Class 3 and above, with points awarded for first, second, third and fourth place finishes.
Travelling Kate was on a two-race winning streak in Australia when she started in a handicap at 1 1/4 miles at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney on Aug. 26.
She raced closer to the front than in her wins and failed to sustain her run, tiring to finish last of nine.
Chances are Travelling Kate will be given a more patient ride in a handicap at 1 3/16 miles at Canterbury Park on Tuesday evening.
By Leo Schlink
Danny Shum will plot a path towards the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) on 10 December with Victor The Winner after the lightly-raced gelding toppled Lucky Sweynesse, the world’s highest-rated sprinter, in the Class 1 the HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup Handicap (1200m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (10 September).
The Arc trials on Sunday at Longchamp Racecourse in France might have been more like Breeders’ Cup auditions.
Warm Heart followed her strong win in the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks last month in England with another excellent performance in the Group 1 Prix Vermeille for fillies and mares, bursting between horses with a quarter-mile to run, quickly making the lead, idling, then repelling a big run from Melo Melo to win by a head.
Barry’s Lane is a 7-year-old gelding based in Australia who has won 5 of 39 starts since his career began in late 2020.
Barry’s Lane won for the first time in 2021 and twice last year.
The last seven weeks have been different.
Barry’s Lane has won two of his last three starts, the best span of his career, and has an excellent chance to win again in a handicap at about 6 1/2 furlongs at Muswellbrook on Monday evening.
With the benefit of a promising prep race, Adelaide Fever will be favored to win for the second time in her 11th start in a handicap at about five furlongs at Grafton Racecourse in Australia on Sunday evening.
Trained by Matthew Dunn, Adelaide Fever won a maiden race at 5 1/2 furlongs at Grafton on March 13, and was seventh a month later in a handicap before she was rested through most of the Austrian winter.
Breeders' Cup Challenge Series races on Saturday in Ireland produced likely Breeders’ Cup starters – and exciting ones, too. Three-year-old colt Auguste Rodin won the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes after 3-year-old filly Tahiyra sprinted clear of her rivals in the Group 1 Matron Stakes. Both horses are top class, and both their trainers specifically mentioned the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita as a late-season goal.
The first of 88 racing programs during the 2023-24 Hong Kong racing season comes Sunday at Sha Tin.
Despite a typhoon that hit Hong Kong about a week ago and record-setting rain late this week - as much as 15 inches during a 24-hour period in some places - Hong Kong Jockey Club officials told local media they fully expected Sunday’s 10-race program to go forward as planned.
