HAPPY VALLEY SELECTIONS
(Wednesday, December 07, 2022)

Jun Light Bolt was a good horse on turf in Japan from 2019 to 2021, winning four of 21 starts and finishing second in a stakes.

On dirt, his career has risen to a new level.

Jun Light Bolt won Sunday’s Grade 1 Champions Cup at Chukyo Racecourse in Japan, the nation’s leading dirt race, in his fourth start on the surface.

Five months have passed since Bunnamagoo had a successful debut in Australia, winning a five-furlong maiden race at Grafton Racecourse for Southern Hemisphere 2-year-olds.

For his debut as a 3-year-old on that hemisphere, Bunnamagoo is an intriguing prospect in a five-furlong Monday handicap at Ballina Racecourse even though he lacks race experience.

Bunnamagoo is by far the most lightly raced runner in a field of 10 that incudes Memphis Squaw, who has started 71 times, and Brutus, who had made 53 starts.

There was much to like about the recent comebacks of Deepmind and Greek Tycoon in Australia.

Both had been off since the first half of the year. Greek Tycoon won his comeback, while Deepmind was second.

Those races served as preps for appearances in a six-furlong handicap at Wagga Wagga Racecourse on Sunday evening across American time zones.

Greek Tycoon, a winner of 2 of 11 starts, won a handicap at about six furlongs at Gundagai Racecourse on Nov. 12, closing from third in a field of nine in his first start since June.

Paul Lally:

R1: 1-5-3-4

R2: 8-4-2-5

R3: 3-4-5-1

R4: 10-8-2-3

R5: 9-1-10-11

R6: 5-7-4-9

R7: 5-1-14-3

R8: 13-2-1-6

R9: 2-10-11-3

R10: 11-1-4-2

Best Bet: R3 N3 Golden Bull

Longshot R10 N11 Power Koepp

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Tom Wood:

R1: 1-3-8-11

R2: 5-8-2-4

R3: 3-5-1-11

Castlereagh Kid finished eighth and fourth in his last two starts, losses that are not as bad as the placings may indicate.

Castlereagh Kid was beaten slightly less than 3 1/2 lengths in a handicap at Flemington Racecourse on Nov. 5 when eighth, and lost by slightly less than two lengths in a handicap at 1 1/4 miles at Ballarat on Nov. 19.

On Saturday, Castlereagh Kid starts in the Werribee Cup at 1 1/4 miles at Werribee Racecourse.

Crown Pride, 13th in the Kentucky Derby earlier this year, will have his Grade 1 debut against older horses in Sunday’s $1.72 million Champions Cup at Chukyo Racecourse in Japan.

Crown Pride, a winner of 3 of 7 starts, has already faced his toughest rival in the Champions Cup in T O Keynes. In the JBC Classic at 1 1/4 miles at Morioka Racecourse on Nov. 3, T O Keynes won by 2 1/2 lengths over Crown Pride, who set the pace.

The 3-year-old filly Amelia’s Jewel has run only in stakes in her brief career.

She has won at distances ranging from five furlongs to a mile, with all the starts at Ascot Racecourse in Perth. She starts in the most important race of her career to date – the $1.02 million Northerly Stakes on Friday at Ascot, her first start in a Group 1 and in a seven-figure race.

SHA TIN SELECTIONS
(Sunday, December 04, 2022) 

Camaguey, who starts in the Mudgee Cup in Australia on Thursday, is far from a high-profile member of the powerful Godolphin Racing stable.

Trained by James Cummings, Camaguey has won 2 of 12 starts, racing in everyday handicaps at prominent tracks. The Mudgee Cup, run at a mile at Mudgee Racecourse, will be held at one of Australia’s smaller venues, but provides the 4-year-old Camaguey with an excellent chance to add to his win total.