Cinsault has compiled a three-race winning streak in Australia since late January that has done little to impress bettors.

A 4-year-old Southern Hemisphere filly, Cinsault won her group stakes debut in the Group 2 Millie Fox Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs for fillies and mares at Rosehill Gardens in Sydney on Feb. 21. The victory has led to Cinsault’s Group 1 debut in Saturday’s Coolmore Classic at 7 1/2 furlongs for fillies and mares at Rosehill Gardens.

As of Wednesday, Cinsault was 8-1 in early betting behind Lazzura (7-2), Savvy Hallie (4-1), and Ole Dancer (6-1).

Il Etait Temps, who fell two fences from the finish of a Grade 1 race at Ascot in January, delivered a largely mistake-free performance to win Wednesday’s Grade 1 Queen Mother Champion Chase at two miles at Cheltenham Racecourse in western England.

Il Etait Temps, who paid $6.80 in American pools as the second choice in a field of 10, gave leading Irish jumps trainer Willie Mullins a sweep of the three Grade 1 races on Wednesday’s seven-race program at Cheltenham.

The 9-year-old geldings Fact to File and Teahupoo have thrived at Cheltenham Racecourse in western England the last few years, a consistency that will make them favorites to win Grade 1 races on Thursday’s third day of the four-day National Hunt festival.

Fact to File, trained in Ireland by Willie Mullins, was the 4-5 favorite in early betting on Tuesday to win Thursday’s $503,250 Ryanair Chase at 2 5/8 miles for the second consecutive year.

Nichola Yuen became the latest product of The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Apprentice Jockeys’ School to join the city’s riding ranks full-time on Tuesday morning (10 March) as she participated in Sha Tin barrier trials before being officially unveiled as a licensed jockey.

As she prepares to compete against some of the world’s leading jockeys at Sha Tin, the 25-year-old immediately set her sights on racing in the jurisdiction’s biggest races.

By Declan Schuster

David Hayes hopes China Win (121lb) can warrant last-minute selection for the HK$26 million 149th BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) when he contests Wednesday night’s (11 March) Class 3 Lyttelton Handicap (1800m) under Zac Purton.

Tom Wood
R1: 3-1-10-9
R2: 2-5-9-4
R3: 5-3-4-6
R4: 4-10-7-8
R5: 3-4-1-5
R6: 7-8-1-4
R7: 5-7-8-3
R8: 8-7-9-1
R9: 9-11-1-4

BEST: R3 N5 AMAZING AWARD (WIN)
VALUE: R8 N8 ACE CHAMPION (EW)
PLAY: R9 QQP 1,9,11

Mark McNamara
R1: 3.10.9.4
R2: 2.9.5.7
R3: 2.5.4.7
R4: 4.7.11.8
R5: 3.4.5.1
R6: 8.1.3.4
R7: 5.2.7.12
R8: 7.9.6.3
R9: 11.2.9.1

Best Bet R1 N3 Island Breezes
Value R3 N2 Stellar Swift
Play R5 Q/QP 3.4.5

For a gelding with four wins in seven starts in steeplechases, Majborough has not always been friendly to bettors. He has lost at odds of 1-2, 4-6 and 3-2 and has never paid more than 2-1 to win.

Majborough is expected to be an odds-on favorite in Wednesday’s Grade 1 Queen Mother Champion Chase at two miles at Cheltenham Racecourse in western England, the main race on the second of four days of the Cheltenham festival for hurdlers and steeplechasers.

The $536,200 Queen Mother Champion Chase is Majborough’s third start at Cheltenham for Irish trainer Willie Mullins. 

In the 12th instalment of The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Road to the Derby series, we zoom in on the galloper Me Tsui hopes will become his first BMW Hong Kong Derby runner since Wah May Star ran 11th in 2013.

Pope Cody entered this year’s Four-Year-Old Classic Series in the second leg, the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m) on 1 March, and showed he belongs in that company with a solid sixth, three and a quarter lengths off impressive winner Stormy Grove.

Italian jockey Andrea Atzeni, fresh from a four-timer at Sha Tin on Sunday (8 March), will reunite with the Chris So-trained Top Dragon in the HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m), the final leg of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series, on Sunday, 22 March. So is hoping that luck will finally be on their side.