Hypothetically, any Thoroughbred can win at any distance if the competition is slow enough.
The 5-year-old horse Hypothetical appears to be a miler at heart, but he simply was better than the 13 horses he faced Saturday at Meydan in the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 and won the 2,000-meter contest by one length.
More than 10 months have passed since the Kentucky-bred gelding Wren’s Day finished second by a head in the $155,060 Tamworth Cup at Tamworth Racecourse in Australia last April.
The narrow setback was the latest in a span of six consecutive top-two finishes for Wren’s Day since June 2020. The 8-year-old Wren’s Day has an excellent chance to continue the streak when he returns from the lengthy layoff for a start in the $110,500 County Championship Qualifier at Tamworth on Sunday.
They’re starting out with both a bang and a whimper Sunday at Sha Tin.
The first two contests on a 10-race card, a Class 1 handicap over 1,650 meters on dirt and a Class 2 handicap at 1,800 meters on turf, are the highest-level races on the program. They also have the shortest fields, six horses each. Combine the two groups and you’d get a more standard Hong Kong field size.
Hot Rod Charlie, Country Grammer, and Midnight Bourbon, Grade 1-class American dirt horses, all are currently stabled in Dubai, but none of them are running Saturday in the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3.
The Group 1, $450,000 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 is the featured race among nine on so-called Super Saturday at Meydan Racecourse. Prep races for the Dubai World Cup card on March 26 fill a program that starts at 6 a.m. Eastern with an Arabian race.
Group 1 races for Southern Hemisphere 3-year-old milers highlight races at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne and Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney in Australia on Saturday, races somewhat overshadowed by the presence of leading older horses in Group 2 races earlier on the programs.
At Flemington, the richest race on a nine-race program is the $732,500 Australian Guineas for 3-year-olds at a mile, which is led by Hitotsu and Profundo, Group 1 winners in October. They were 7-2 joint favorites in early betting on Thursday.
It may be post time for the Group 3 Newmarket Handicap at Newcastle Racecourse in Australia on Friday before the favorite is determined in a field of 13.
As of Wednesday, runners such as Rock, Riodini, Special Reward, and Through the Cracks were floating around at 5-1 and 6-1 in early betting. Others such as Dajraan and Nimalee were slightly higher at 9-1, but have attractive credentials.
The 5-year-old mare Anatolian Charm will be closing through the stretch of a handicap at 1 1/4 miles at Port Macquarie Racecourse in Australia on Thursday.
The uncertainty is whether her late kick will result in a third consecutive second- or third-place finish, and if she can end a seven-race losing streak.
Things may be working out beautifully for the Hong Kong connections of the New Zealand-bred 3-year-old gelding Lucky Sweynesse.
Their horse scored an eye-catching debut victory Feb. 9 at Happy Valley, winning a Class 4 handicap over 1,200 meters by 2 1/4 lengths. That triggered a nine-point rating rise, from 52 to 61, from the Hong Kong Jockey Club handicapping team, which means Lucky Sweynesse runs back Wednesday night at Happy Valley carrying a very low weight while trying Class 3 competition for the first time.
From April to August of last year, Corbulo won four times in England at distances ranging from a mile at Bath Racecourse to 1 5/16 miles at Chester Racecourse.
The versatility could serve Corbulo well when he has his Australian debut in a handicap at 1 1/8 miles at Sandown Racecourse in Melbourne on Wednesday.
Corbulo has not raced since he finished fourth by 1 3/4 lengths in a handicap on the synthetic track at Lingfield Park near London in late August.
