Sha Tin Selections
(Tuesday, July 01, 2025)
Race 1: #9 Tradition, #4 Chateau Le Peche, #10 Mr Aladdin, #3 Leather Master
Race 2: #8 Robot Lucky Star, #1 Heroic Master, #2 Multidutch, #13 Amazing Galaxy
Race 3: #1 Fortunate Son, #2 Spirit Of Peace, #9 Bull Attitude, #4 Mighty Steed
Race 4: #11 Autumn Delight, #2 Lunar Dash, #1 Wonderstar, #4 Diriya
Race 5: #3 Young Champion, #4 Light Years Charm, #11 Brilliant Express, #5 Soleil Fighter
If ever a horse lacking a Group 1 win deserved one, it was Calandagan. Second-best in four straight Group 1 races, Calandagan was second to none Sunday in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.
Calandagan, a 4-year-old Aga Khan homebred trained by Francis-Henri Graffard, had finished second last summer in the Juddmonte International, second last fall in the Champion Stakes, second this spring in the Sheema Classic, and second June 6 in the Coronation Cup.
It didn’t come as easily as the Derby at Epsom three weeks ago, but Lambourn became a dual Derby winner Sunday at The Curragh when he captured the Irish Derby by three-quarters of a length over his longshot stablemate Serious Contender.
The Irish Derby does seem to come easily for trainer Aidan O’Brien: Lambourn was his 17th winner in the 1 1/2-mile classic.
Lambourn’s Derby win at Epsom, which followed victory in the Chester Vase, came as a mild surprise, but not Sunday’s. He went off at odds of 2-5 and paid $2.80 on the American tote.
By Leo Schlink
With only 50 races remaining in the 2024/25 season, Zac Purton has secured an eighth Hong Kong jockeys’ championship with a treble at Sha Tin on Saturday (28 June) to hold an unassailable 59-win lead over nearest rival Hugh Bowman.
Purton, 42, struck aboard Gentlemen Legacy, Copartner Fleet and Fashion Legend to claim a fourth successive championship. The Australian previously claimed the jockeys’ title in 2013/14, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 and now has a record 1,866 Hong Kong wins overall.
Lambourn is the clear form choice
Curragh | Race 1: Dubai Duty Free Handicap
I kick off Irish Derby Day with MISSISSIPPI RIVER in what looks a very competitive race.
He won under Jack [Cleary] last time out at Leopardstown and I was twice a runner-up on him before that.
He’s very consistent and should run his race again but has to contend with a career high mark. Hopefully he’s still improving and the step up in trip should suit.
In the history of the Group 1 Irish Derby, 19 winners also won the Group 1 English Derby at Epsom Racecourse.
On Sunday, Lambourn will be an odds-on favorite to become the 20th to reach the milestone and give legendary trainer Aidan O’Brien his sixth Epsom-Irish double. He has won the Irish Derby a remarkable 16 times.
Lambourn will have familiar company. Lazy Griff and Tennessee Stud, second and third in the English Derby on June 7, are part of a field of 10 in the $1.46 million Irish Derby, run at 1 1/2 miles at The Curragh.
By Leo Schlink
Seeking to secure a record-extending 13th Hong Kong trainers’ championship, John Size hopes Wunderbar can successfully revert to Sha Tin’s straight course when the talented sprinter contests the HK$3.72 million Class 1 Pearce Memorial Challenge Cup Handicap (1000m) on Saturday (28 June).
With 64 wins, Size leads David Hayes (55) by nine wins with six meetings left in the season and will field 10 runners this weekend when Wunderbar will chase an eighth victory from only 13 starts.
A stable change earlier this year has revitalized the career of the 4-year-old New Zealand-bred filly Floozie, who has her Group 1 debut in Friday’s $458,700 Tattersall’s Tiara at seven furlongs at Eagle Farm Racecourse in Brisbane, Australia.
Floozie has won her last four starts, including three races at Eagle Farm, all since being transferred to Eagle Farm-based trainer Tony Gollan.
By Leo Schlink
The battle for the Tony Cruz Award as Hong Kong’s leading homegrown jockey intensified at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (25 June) when Matthew Chadwick’s double pushed him to within two wins of Matthew Poon with only six meetings remaining in the 2024/25 season.
Chadwick boosted his season’s tally to 34 – compared to Poon’s 36 – with wins on Tony Cruz-trained Superb Capitalist in the Class 3 St George’s Challenge Cup Handicap (1000m) and Me Tsui’s Another Zonda in the Class 3 Renfrew Handicap (1650m).
