Two races into his new career, the gelding Khaalis is showing signs of adapting to Australian racing.
Bred in Ireland, Khaalis began his career in England where he won a one-mile race on the synthetic track at Chelmsford City near London in his second start last September.
Wednesday on the Kensington course at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Khaalis will start for the third time in Australia in a handicap at 1 1/8 miles on turf.
Paul Lally:
R1 4-8-12-3
R2 8-9-5-3
R3 5-6-8-4
R4 7-2-6-12
R5 9-1-3-4
R6 8-4-9-10
R7 10-5-2-6
R8 9-2-1-12
R9 7-10-6-3
R10 5-3-4-11
Best Bet: R10 N5 My Sugar
Longshot: R7 N10 GoGo Sixteen
Play: R10 QQP 3-4-5
Tom Wood:
R1: 8-6-2-1
R2: 5-9-11-8
R3: 5-8-6-4
R4: 12-6-2-7
R5: 1-4-9-7
R6: 8-4-6-7
R7: 6-10-8-5
R8: 12-9-2-6
R9: 2-7-10-6
R10: 3-5-6-9
Fast Talking and Ready to Humble are in the midst of similar careers, reliable geldings racing at venues in the Australian countryside more often than at tracks in metropolitan Sydney.
They meet for the first time in a race that is a good fit for both runners – Sunday’s $73,700 Dubbo City and Gilgandra Gold Cup at a mile at Dubbo Racecourse, about 250 miles from Sydney.
Hong Kong Win, a 6-year-old Australian-bred gelding, finished the 2020-21 racing season in Hong Kong with sixth-, eighth-, and seventh-place finishes in sprint handicaps in June and July.
Typically, such a record would not be very encouraging for Hong Kong Win’s seasonal reappearance in Sunday’s $308,522 Choi Hung Handicap at five furlongs on turf at Sha Tin Racecourse, but Hong Kong Win’s record of two wins in five starts following layoffs changes the outlook.
Mishriff, St. Mark’s Basilica, and Adayar share top billing in the latest release of the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings.
All three European horses are rated 127 with Mishriff moving up since the last ratings were released by an international panel of racing officials. In the August rankings Adayar, the Derby winner, and St. Mark’s Basilica, who has won the French Guineas, the French Derby, and the Eclipse Stakes against older rivals, were already rated 127. Mishriff moved up off a mark of 124 following his victory in the International Stakes.
The Dubai Racing Club on Sept. 7 announced purse increases for the upcoming 2021-22 racing season in the United Arab Emirates.
In a news release, the club said the 2022 Dubai World Cup card, scheduled for March 6, will offer total purses next year of $30.5 million and that all races on the program would be worth at least $1 million. The 2021 World Cup card was worth $28.5 million and included four races with a purse of $750,000.
A staggeringly deep field in Saturday’s Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes at a mile at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia can be divided into two groups – contenders set for a peak effort and those returning from layoffs who are pointing for upcoming major races.
The $737,200 Maykbe Diva Stakes drew 13, with 10 Group 1 or Grade 1 winners – Aegon, Colette, Explosive Jack, Fifty Stars, Inspirational Girl, Johnny Get Angry, Keiai Nautique, Mo’unga, Sir Dragonet, and Tofane.
Tarnawa, winner of the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland, and St. Mark’s Basilica, the winner of the French Derby in June and two other Group 1 races this year, make up half the field in Saturday’s Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown Racecourse.
St. Mark’s Basilica, trained by Aidan O’Brien, is expected to be even-money, while Tarnawa will be around 2-1 against 3-1 Poetic Flare, winner of the Group 1 St. James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot in June, and Patrick Sarsfield, a Group 3 winner in Ireland last year who will be an outsider.
