SHA TIN SELECTIONS
(Sunday, February 19, 2023)

The 2022 season was a bust for Reward Seeker. He was winless in seven starts, never finishing better than fourth.

Reward Seeker, 8, had a brighter start to his 2023 campaign, finishing a good third at 19-1 in a handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs at Dubbo Racecourse on Jan. 30. Reward Seeker closed from fifth in a field of 10 to miss by 1 3/4 lengths in his first start since September.

Reward Seeker is among the leading candidates for the Quirindi Showcase Cup at a mile at Quirindi Racecourse on Thursday evening.

Ami Please was winless in three starts in one-mile turf stakes at California tracks in the final months of 2022, finishing second, fourth, and third.

The 3-year-old filly will have her 2023 debut under greatly different circumstances. Ami Please is the lone American-trained runner in Friday’s Group 3 United Arab Emirates Oaks at 1 3/16 miles on dirt at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai.

The Seven Seas was an odds-on favorite when she won a maiden race at Bathurst Racecourse in Australia in her seventh career start on Jan. 24.

She can play the role of spoiler for Atmospheric Rock, a gelding held in high regard, in a six-furlong handicap at Goulburn Racecourse on Wednesday evening.

Atmospheric Rock was the 4-5 favorite in early betting on Tuesday, while The Seven Seas was the 3-1 second choice. A 1-2 finish from the pair is possible, depending on whether Atmospheric Rock can be effective from off the pace in his first start mid-November.

The 4-year-old Australian gelding Journalism may provide a scoop for bettors in a handicap at 7 3/4 furlongs on the Kensington course at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on Tuesday evening.

A winner of 3 of 9 starts for trainers Adrian Bott and Gai Waterhouse, Journalism is one of three leading contenders in a field of eight, along with Bon Vivant and Atlantic Ocean. They were all 2-1 in early betting as of Monday.

HAPPY VALLEY SELECTIONS
(Wednesday, February 15, 2023)

In three consecutive starts in December and January, the Australian filly Zelady Luck found trouble in seven-furlong races at Royal Randwick and Warwick Farm racecourses in Sydney.

Not surprisingly, Zelady Luck was winless, but it is a credit to her perseverance that she finished third in the second of those races.

For her third start of 2023, Zelady Luck has an easier assignment in a seven-furlong handicap for fillies and mares at Hawkesbury Racecourse near Sydney on Monday evening. The field is a slightly lower class level than Zelady Luck’s last three races.

The Australian gelding Binkou returns to the venue of his lone career win when he starts in a handicap at 6 3/4 furlongs on the infield Beaumont course at Newcastle Racecourse on Sunday evening.

Binkou won his second start in a maiden race at 6 3/4 furlongs on the Beaumont course on Oct. 24 and was later third in two six-furlong handicaps at Port Macquarie Racecourse on Jan. 6 and Jan. 20.

Paul Lally:

R1: 12-7-2-1

R2: 1-10-8-2

R3: 8-1-5-3

R4: 4-3-7-11

R5: 4-3-6-10

R6: 5-2-8-9

R7: 10-4-3-7

R8: 10-2-4-6

R9: 1-6-10-9

R10: 5-8-9-11

Best Bet: R6 5 Smiling Collector

Longshot: R8 10 Hero Icon

Play: Race5 QQP 3-4-6

Mark McNamara:

R1: 8.12.7.5

R2: 13.6.5.10

R3: 1.5.3.8

R4: 4.11.3.2

R5: 3.6.11.10

R6: 2.9.11.3

R7: 5.2.3.10

R8: 9.10.2.6

R9: 2.6.1.10

An already busy 2023 campaign for the Australian gelding Swoop Dog has been geared toward a start in the Group 3 Hobart Cup at Hobart Racecourse on Saturday evening.

Swoop Dog is unbeaten in three starts at tracks this year on the island of Tasmania, where Hobart is located, including the Summer Cup at 1 3/8 miles at Hobart on Jan. 22. 

The $207,400 Hobart Cup is run at 1 1/2 miles, a new distance for Swoop Dog. The competition will be different, too. With group status and a strong purse, the Hobart Cup has drawn a field of shippers from mainland Australia.