Andrew Le Jeune:
R1:5-1-7-6
R2:1-4-8-13
R3:6-1-7-9
R4:4-2-13-5
R5:7-13-10-2
R6:12-7-2-9
R7:1-2-6-10
R8: 12-10-4-9
R9: 14-2-10-8
R10:2-14-10-5
Best: R3 N6 The Crown
Each/way: R7 N1 California Ten
Play: R7 Q/QP 1-2-6
Mark McNamara:
R1: 7-12-10-13
R2: 13-4-12-8
R3: 6-7-1-3
R4: 1-4-3-13
R5: 7-8-1-13
R6: 12-7-2-5
R7: 2-8-3-4
R8: 12-4-9-3
R9: 4-3-10-2
R10: 2-10-3-13
Best Bet R6 N12 Green Envy
Beauty Smile sharply won a Class 1 handicap in his most recent start and on Sunday in the featured third race at Sha Tin takes on eight foes in a Class 2 handicap over the same 1,400-meter trip at which he just won. You might think Beauty Smile stands out here – but weight just a minute.
Healing Hands is a 6-year-old Australian-bred gelding who has thrived in sprints despite a disrupted career.
A winner of 5 of 9 starts, Healing Hands has won at distances ranging from five to seven furlongs, but has not raced since a sixth-place finish in the Country Championship at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney last April.
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The home team fared quite well Thursday at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai.
Godolphin, the racing and breeding powerhouse headed by Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai, swept the top four placings in the Group 3, $195,000 Nad al Sheba Trophy Stakes and went one-two in the Group 3, $130,000 Dubai Millennium Stakes.
Forget the boys. The Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday may be dominated by the 5-year-old mare Verry Elleegant and the 4-year-old filly Colette.
The Chipping Norton Stakes is run at a mile and has a rich recent history. The famous mare Winx won the race for four consecutive years from 2016-19.
Just a Joke ended a 10-race losing streak with a victory in a handicap at about a mile at Ballina Racecourse in Australia on Feb. 15, his first win in his third start for trainer Jason Reilly.
The stable must have liked what it saw in the win, by a little less than a half-length. Just a Joke will start in a handicap at about a mile on Friday at Ballina, seeking his first back-to-back wins since this time last year when trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.
Paul Lally:
R1 1-6-2-10
R2 8-2-5-6
R3 7-2-6-4
R4 6-1-2-4
R5 2-3-12-5
R6 5-9-3-4
R7 4-3-6-2
R8 7-1-3-6
R9 7-11-3-8
Best Bet R7 N4 Mudita
Longshot R4 N6 Aquila
Play R7 QQP 3-4-6
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Andrew Le Jeune:
Merlin’s Magic was beaten a little more than a half-length in a handicap at a mile at Gold Coast Racecourse in Australia on Feb. 6, the 5-year-old mare’s sixth consecutive loss since June.
The performance was better than what it seems. Merlin’s Magic was last behind what appeared to be a moderate pace and ran well through the stretch to be closest at the finish.
Star Safari takes a meaningful turn back in trip while stepping out of the handicap ranks to start in the Group 3, $130,000 Dubai Millennium Stakes, but he still could be favored, offering no value at all, in this 2,000-meter turf contest, co-featured on a sleepy six-race card Thursday at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai.
