Sha Tin Selections
(Saturday, December 27, 2025)
By Declan Schuster
Frankie Lor is hopeful Regal Gem (120lb) can secure a hat-trick of wins in Tuesday’s (23 December) HK$3.12 million Class 2 Neptune Handicap (1650m) at Happy Valley, provided the three-year-old overcomes a significant rise in distance and the seasoned opposition trying to stop him.
Nick Child
R1 | 3-6-11-12
R2 | 1-7-12-9
R3 | 10-6-2-11
R4 | 1-8-5-3
R5 | 11-7-3-2
R6 | 2-8-1-6
R7 | 5-8-4-12
R8 | 10-2-7-1
R9 | 7-3-2-1
BEST BET | R6-2 WROTE A NEW PAGE
VALUE BET | R7-5 SWEET BRIAR
PLAY | R8 (Q/QP 2-7-10)
Paul Lally
R1 | 6-3-5-4
R2 | 2-1-12-5
R3 | 6-8-10-11
R4 | 1-2-5-8
R5 | 12-2-3-11
R6 | 6-3-2-8
R7 | 9-1-10-8
R8 | 3-11-2-12
R9 | 3-1-2-4
Cavallerizzo closed from ninth in a field of 14 to reach the front in the final strides of Sunday’s Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity for 2-year-olds at Hanshin Racecourse in Japan.
Ridden by Cristian Demuro, Cavallerizzo (who paid $9 in American pools) caught 6-1 Diamond Knot late to win the one-mile turf race by three-quarters of a length. Admire Quads, who won his first two starts and was the 2-1 favorite, rallied wide through the final half-mile but could not threaten the first two finishers, losing by 1 3/4 lengths.
By Declan Schuster
Mark Newnham reached a significant milestone on Saturday (20 December) at Sha Tin as leading Four-Year-Old Classic Series prospect, Invincible Ibis (130lb), passed yet another crucial test on his march towards the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) – the opening leg of the three-race age-restricted challenge – on 1 February.
Nick Child:
R1 | 6-1-2-5
R2 | 12-9-11-4
R3 | 3-12-10-13
R4 | 9-2-1-5
R5 | 6-1-4-9
R6 | 7-8-1-4
R7 | 2-7-3-12
R8 | 1-4-6-9
R9 | 7-9-4-3
R10 | 1-2-7-4
R11 | 5-4-8-2
BEST BET | R8-1 CELESTIAL HERO
VALUE BET | R4-9 TURQUOISE VELOCITY
PLAY | R7 (Q/QP 2-3-7)
Admire Quads, Ecoro Alba, and Realize Sirius have had similar preparations for Sunday’s Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity for 2-year-olds at Hanshin Racecourse in Japan.
The trio won races for first-time starters and followed with graded stakes wins in their only appearances.
Realize Sirius had the earliest start, winning at a mile in his debut at Tokyo Racecourse in Japan on June 15. A stalker, Realize Sirius followed with a four-length win in the Grade 3 Nisai Sakes at Niigata Racecourse on Aug. 24.
By Paul Ryding
Hugh Bowman will aim to continue an impressive run of form at Sha Tin on Saturday (20 December) as he prepares to tackle a book of seven rides at the meeting.
The Australian Racing Hall of Famer is rounding out 2025 with momentum, piloting six winners, eight seconds and a third so far in December.
That run included a Wednesday night double at Happy Valley, where next week’s mid-week meeting will be held on Tuesday (23 December).