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)

Levi’s Storm is trained by Cody Morgan, who is based at Tamworth Racecourse in the Australian countryside between Brisbane and Sydney.

Levi’s Storm has won 2 of 4 starts, with both wins at Tamworth in March and May. With the home track advantage for daily training and in recent races, Levi’s Storm is expected to continue the success when he starts in a seven-furlong handicap on Friday.

Levi’s Storm was the 4-5 favorite in early betting on Wednesday.

Duke of Neworleans, the promising Australian-bred gelding, returns from a layoff of nearly five months in a six-furlong handicap at Moe Racecourse, east of Melbourne, on Thursday with conditions seemingly in his favor.

Duke of Neworleans figures to be an odds-on favorite in a full field of 14, and has outstanding credentials, with a win in his debut and third- and second-place finishes by a combined length in two subsequent starts.

But the presence of Address Melbourne, a 4-year-old gelding who has won 2 of 9 starts, could spoil the comeback of Duke of Neworleans.

Wesley Ward’s 2021 Royal Ascot adventure has ended, and his horses soon will join him back in the U.S.

Even considering that Caspar Fownes has been going well pretty much this entire Hong Kong racing season, the trainer’s performance June 20 at Sha Tin still stood out.

Fownes had 12 runners on the 10-race card and notched five winners. Southern Legend won the Group 3 Premier Plate over 1,800 meters, while Fownes ran one-two in the Group 3 Premier Cup with Sky Field and Sky Darci. Capping the day was another decisive win from the exciting 3-year-old Killer Bee.

Eight Diamonds was rested after she finished 14^th of 16 as a longshot in the Group 1 Surround Stakes at seven furlongs at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney in February.

It was an ambitious race for a 3-year-old filly with only a maiden race win to her credit in four previous starts.

Wednesday, Eight Diamonds starts in a more realistic race, a six-furlong handicap against males at Canterbury Park in Sydney.

HAPPY VALLEY SELECTIONS
(Wednesday, June 23, 2021)

Mark McNamara:

R1 – 1.9.11.5

R2 – 6.11.3.4

R3 – 1.2.11.7

R4 – 3.7.1.9

R5 – 9.1.2.3

R6 – 3.2.1.9

R7 – 5.2.8.1

R8 – 2.4.5.10

R9 – 8.1.2.5

R10 – 9.5.4.7

Best Bet  R4 N3 Gluck Racer

Longshot  R9 N8 E Star

Play R9 – Q/QP 1.2.8

Tom Wood:

R1: 1-9-5-3

R2: 6-4-2-11

R3: 11-4-1-2

R4: 3-8-4-14        
R5: 1-2-9-3

R6: 2-3-6-8

R7: 2-8-1-5

R8: 2-5-4-6

R9: 2-8-9-14

The ‘Queen Alex’ remains the getting-out stakes ending the meeting and given its extreme distance for a flat race of 2m5½f, not all runners truly stay.