Trainer John Size and jockey Joao Moreira teamed to win three races from three runners Wednesday night at Happy Valley and have the likely favorite for the Saturday feature at Sha Tin.
Four-year-old Blaze Warrior has four wins and a second from five career starts, all in Hong Kong, and he’ll take plenty of beating in a Class 2 handicap over 1,400 meters.
Danson Scorpion, Do Deuce, Geoglyph, and Serifos are the four principal runners in a field of 15 in Sunday’s Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity for 2-year-olds at a mile at Hanshin Racecourse in Japan.
The four colts have quite a lot in common: They are undefeated after at least two starts, have won at distances ranging from a mile to 1 1/8 miles, and have similar styles of racing from off the pace.
Blaazay is most comfortable at Moruya Racecourse in Australia where the 6-year-old gelding has every chance to win Sunday’s Narooma Cup at 6 1/2 furlongs.
A winner of 3 of 12 starts, Blaazay is trained at Moruya by John Gamble. Blaazay has won 3 of 6 starts at Moruya, and finished second or third in the other races. Moruya is located three hours south of Sydney.
Paul Lally:
R1: 12-4-6-1
R2: 1-11-2-4
R3: 11-1-12-5
R4: 6-4-7-5
R5: 7-6-10-2
R6: 5-4-11-10
R7: 1-11-9-2
R8: 5-14-10-3
R9: 6-7-2-12
R10: 7-4-2-8
Best Bet R4 N6 Steel Win
Longshot R5 N7 Vukan
Play R4 qqp 4-6-7
Tom Wood:
R1: 4-12-6-8
R2: 7-4-3-8
R3: 6-5-4-1
R4: 5-7-6-12
R5: 6-10-2-3
R6: 4-5-1-10
R7: 9-1-2-11
R8: 5-10-3-13
R9: 6-5-2-7
R10: 2-4-8-7
Far Too Easy, the 3-year-old Australian gelding, cost about $33,000 as a yearling. According to published reports in recent days, co-owner and trainer David McColm has turned down recent offers of more than $700,000.
McColm, a former jockey, wants to keep Far Too Easy, who starts in Saturday’s $143,480 Gold Edition Plate for Southern Hemisphere 3-year-olds at Eagle Farm Racecourse in Brisbane. More lucrative races are under consideration if Far Too Easy runs as expected.
The lightly raced Australian gelding Cuban State is rounding into form at an ideal time in advance of a lucrative handicap at a mile at Morphettville Racecourse near Adelaide on Friday.
Cuban State won his debut last February and was third and seventh in two additional starts over the next 45 days. After a layoff of more than seven months, Cuban State finished fourth in a seven-furlong handicap at Morphettville on Nov. 13, but rebounded to win a seven-furlong handicap at Balaklava Racecourse on Dec. 8.
Paul Lally:
R1 6-2-1-11
R2 4-8-3-2
R3 6-10-9-1
R4 9-1-3-4
R5 5-6-8-9
R6 6-3-8-10
R7 1-3-2-7
R8 3-8-6-4
Best Bet R6 N6 Baebae Tsoi
Longshot R8 N3 Never Too Soon
Play R8 QQP 3-6-8
:: Hong Kong: Free PPs, picks, analysis, replays, and live streaming
Tom Wood:
French Star won consecutive races for the first time in her career at minor tracks in Australia in November.
A potential third consecutive win, in a handicap at 5 1/2 furlongs at Kyneton Racecourse on Thursday, hinges on whether the 5-year-old mare can be comfortable stalking the pace in a large field.
Hong Kong takes jockey championships seriously, and the race for leading rider during the 2021-22 Hong Kong season changed dramatically when Zac Purton was injured Sunday at Sha Tin.
Purton was part of the terrible accident in the Hong Kong Sprint that sent three jockeys to the hospital and tragically led to the deaths of two horses. Purton’s mount, Lucky Patch, was in the middle of the wreck yet somehow was able to stay on his feet, and on Monday, trainer Francis Lui reported Lucky Patch was bruised and sore but otherwise uninjured, a bright spot in a dark situation.
