Joao Moreira has a hammerlock on the Hong Kong jockey standings during the 2020-21 season, adding three more wins to his total last Saturday at Sha Tin, and Moreira could be on another winner in the featured seventh race on a rare Thursday card at Sha Tin.

Moreira rides Looking Great, one of 11 entries in race 7, a Class 2 handicap for horses rated 100-80 and carded over 1,800 meters on grass. The 10-race card begins at 10 p.m. Pacific on Wednesday night, and you can catch all the action at DRFBets.com.

A series of narrow losses in the last six weeks has done nothing to damage the reputation of Smokin’ Romans, who will start favored in a competitive handicap at 1 5/16 miles at Sandown Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia, on Wednesday.

SHA TIN SELECTIONS
(Thursday, July 01, 2021)

A handicap at 1 5/8 miles at Australia Park in Werribee outside of Melbourne, Australia, on Sunday is a reunion of sorts from a similar handicap at Sandown Racecourse earlier this month.

Cernan, who finished third, is one of four runners from that race who are part of the 10-runner field at Werribee.

In her brief career, Santa Barbara’s reputation has far outpaced her performance, and she once again is an early favorite for an important overseas race, this time the Group 1 Pretty Polly on Sunday at The Curragh.

Off a debut win at age 2, Santa Barbara was the 5-2 favorite for the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket in May, and after she finished fourth in that race, it was believed she merely needed more distance than that straight-course mile to shine. Accordingly, Santa Barbara went favored at 5-2 in the 1 1/2-mile Oaks at Epsom on June 4 – where she finished fifth.

The Japanese older mare Chrono Genesis has been raced sparingly in the last year. It is usually worth the wait.

This year, Chrono Genesis has had one start, finishing second by a neck to Mishriff in the Group 1 Sheema Classic in Dubai in March. Mishriff won the $20 million Saudi Cup in Saudi Arabia in February.

Chrono Genesis, 5, had five starts in Japan in 2019 and 2020, winning three Grade 1 races in that span.

There are several Happy Valley specialists atop the ratings for the featured 10th race Saturday in Hong Kong, the problem for them being that this card is being held at Sha Tin.

Hong Kong Win, Massive Pocket, and Shining Ace are the top-rated horses in this Class 2 turf handicap over 1,200 meters, and all have done their best work at Hong Kong’s city track, Happy Valley, rather than at the more spacious and traditionally shaped Sha Tin oval.

The 3-year-old filly Odeum is unlucky to be in the midst of a five-race losing streak entering Saturday’s Group 1 Tattersall’s Tiara Stakes for fillies and mares at Eagle Farm Racecourse in Australia.

In the Group 2 Dane Ripper Stakes for fillies and mares at 6 1/2 furlongs at Eagle Farm on June 12, Odeum closed steadily with a wide trip to lead briefly in the final furlong, only to be caught in the final strides by Brooklyn Hustle. Odeum was beaten less than a half-length.

High Definition will start favored in Saturday’s Group 1 Irish Derby at The Curragh, three weeks after he was expected to have a similar role in the English Derby at Epsom Racecourse.

In a surprise, trainer Aidan O’Brien omitted High Definition from the final entries of the English Derby.

In the $1.19 million Irish Derby at 1 1/2 miles, High Definition will be tested against 10 rivals, including Mojo Star and Hurricane Lane, who were second and third in the English Derby at 1 1/2 miles. High Definition was the 8-5 favorite with bookmakers as of Thursday.

SHA TIN SELECTIONS
(Saturday, June 26, 2021)