Paul Lally:
R1 1-2-3-7
R2 5-6-1-4
R3 1-11-10-2
R4 6-4-1-11
R5 3-1-9-4
R6 8-6-13-4
R7 8-10-4-9
R8 11-3-2-7
R9 5-7-11-4
R10 2-6-5-1
Best Bet R7 N8 Chui Chow Brother
Longshot R8 N11 Like That
Play R7 4-8-10
Tom Wood:
R1: 1-2-3-7
R2: 1-9-7-2-
R3: 1-2-4-12
R4: 6-4-3-10
R5: 1-3-11-9
R6: 7-6-8-2
R7: 1-8-4-9
R8: 3-2-11-6
R9: 5-4-11-3
R10: 2-5-13-1
Sometimes less is more, and that goes for equipment used on racehorses. Since trainer Manfred Man removed a hood from E Star’s raceday equipment package the gelding’s form has taken a turn for the better.
Three races ago, E Star emphatically won a Class 3 handicap, and he has been knocking on the door in two subsequent Class 2 starts. E Star gets back in a race like that, the featured ninth on Sunday at Sha Tin, and looks as good as any of the 14 entrants in this 1,400-meter turf contest.
Flying Agent is on a three-race winning streak in Australia that consists of a two-mile hurdle in April, a prestigious steeplechase at 2 1/8 miles in May, and a flat handicap at 1 3/8 miles in June.
Yes, Flying Agent can seemingly do it all, which is why he is the odds-on favorite to win Sunday’s $75,200 Thackeray Steeplechase at 2 1/8 miles at Warrnambool Racecourse.
An 8-year-old gelding, Flying Agent has won 2 of 3 career starts at Warrnambool, west of Melbourne. In his career, Flying Agent has won 9 of 33 starts and 6 of 13 starts over obstacles.
The Australian 3-year-old filly Palaisipan has had flawless sprint form in the last three months, going undefeated in four starts at distances ranging from 5 1/2 furlongs to 6 3/4 furlongs.
Those wins have led to Palaisipan’s stakes debut in Saturday’s Group 3 Winx Stakes at Sunshine Coast Racecourse, where she will race at a mile for the first time in a field of 16 in her fifth start. Trained by Chris Munce, Palaisipan will be ridden by apprentice Justin Huxtable, who was aboard for the filly’s second start, in a minor handicap at 6 3/4 furlongs at Ipswich Racecourse on May 3.
Even a four-horse field can pack a strong punch, as evidenced by the Eclipse Stakes on Saturday at Sandown Park Racecourse in England.
El Drama would be a shock winner of this 1 1/4-mile, early summer fixture, but his three opponents – Mishriff, St. Mark’s Basilica, and Addeybb – are excellent.
Australian apprentice jockey Tianna Chapman will always remember Typhoon Harmony, the 4-year-old gelding who gave the 22-year-old rider her first win with her third career mount at Geelong Racecourse near Melbourne on June 18.
Chapman has since added to that success, winning a second race at Moe Racecourse on June 24. Her next mount is aboard Typhoon Harmony in a handicap at about 6 1/2 furlongs at Geelong on Friday.
Typhoon Harmony, a winner of 2 of 5 starts, is trained by Peter Gelagotis, who has provided Chapman with her two wins in six mounts.
Paul Lally:
R1: 1-8-9-4
R2: 1-11-7-4
R3: 7-5-4-1
R4: 2-4-5-13
R5: 1-6-2-11
R6: 13-9-3-2
R7: 4-9-8-5
R8: 3-1-6-7
R9: 6-2-5-3
R10: 7-11-4-9
Best Bet R5: N1 Excellent Chariot
Longshot R9: N6 Excellent Daddy
Play R9: 2-5-6 QQP
Mark McNamara:
R1: 1.4.9.2
R2: 9.1.11.7
R3: 11.5.7.2
R4: 2.1.6.4
R5: 2.3.11.7
R6: 9.13.3.2
R7: 8.9.1.4
R8: 7.6.4.3
R9: 3.2.5.1
Shotgun Alli showed little in her first two starts last November and December, finishing sixth and eighth.
Six months later, the situation has changed remarkably. Shotgun Alli beat maidens in her first start in five months on May 27 at Gosford Park and followed that success with her first victory against winners in a handicap on June 13 at Hawkesbury Racecourse.
Thursday, Shotgun Alli will start against fillies and mares in a handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs at Hawkesbury, holding an excellent chance for a third consecutive win.
