By Declan Schuster

After clean-sweeping last season’s Four-Year-Old Classic Series with the brilliant Golden Sixty, trainer Francis Lui is looking to Lucky Patch (117lb) this time around and Sunday’s (10 January) Class 2 Choi Hung Handicap (1400m) will see him lay out his credentials for a Hong Kong Classic Mile tilt in 16 days’ time.

“He’s good – he’s held his condition, he has a good draw and hopefully he can perform,” Lui said of the Australian import.

A return to shorter races and a start at his home track may help Nashville Sound end a 13-race losing streak in the 1 1/16-mile Koroit Cup at Warrnambool Racecourse in Australia on Sunday.

Nashville Sound, a 6-year-old Australian-bred gelding, has raced primarily at distances of 1 1/4 miles to 1 1/2 miles in the last eight months. He finished second in a handicap at 1 7/16 miles at Warrnambool in May.

Two weeks after his first group stakes win, Spirit Ridge will be favored to win a slightly lower quality race in Saturday’s listed $116,400 January Cup at 1 1/4 miles at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Australia.

Spirit Ridge won the Group 3 Summer Cup at 1 1/4 miles at Randwick on Dec. 26, his second win in four starts since he was transferred from England to Australia at this time last year. Trained by Mark Newnham, Spirit Ridge displayed his customary style as a stalker and won the Summer Cup by about a neck over Best of Days.

By Leo Schlink

A collaboration of champion jockeys – past and present – and brutal discipline paved the way for Savvy Nine to belatedly break his Hong Kong maiden in emphatic style with victory in the G3 January Cup Handicap (1800), leaving Douglas Whyte to celebrate his first Group winner as a trainer.

Christophe Soumillon ruthlessly delivered on his promise to ride Savvy Nine at 120lb – a weight the Belgian rarely attains – as Whyte marveled at his former race-track rival’s tactical savvy.

By Leo Schlink

David Hayes will cast unbeaten Beauty Joy (116lb) into a daunting Sha Tin initiation in the Class 2 Choi Hung Handicap (1400m) on Sunday (10 January) in a contest featuring the return of Excellent Proposal (132lb) and a host of international form lines.

SHA TIN SELECTIONS
(Sunday, January 10, 2021)

Well regarded since a win in his debut in July, the 3-year-old First Accused will have his stakes debut in Friday’s $76,500 Tasmanian Guineas at Launceston Racecourse with an excellent chance to win for the fourth time in his fifth start.

First Accused won his first two starts, in July and October, before finishing third in a handicap at Hobart Racecourse on Nov. 29. Trained by Scott Brunton, First Accused rebounded to win at Launceston in a seven-furlong handicap on Dec. 16, closing from fourth in a field of seven.

Two days later than expected, Muswellbrook Racecourse in Australia will have its first program of the year on Thursday.

A program on Tuesday was postponed two days because of wet conditions, but the races are largely the same.

Lochita, the 5-year-old Australian-bred mare, will have her second start after an eight-month layoff in a handicap at 7 1/2 furlongs and faces a tough rival in Dashing ‘n’ Daring.

By Declan Schuster

Singapore Sling (123lb) returns to Happy Valley on Wednesday (6 January) night for the first time since December 2017 with jockey Chad Schofield hoping the gelding can maintain his unblemished record at the city circuit in the G3 January Cup Handicap (1800m).

Paul Lally:

R1 8-1-5-10
R2 5-3-11-6
R3 7-3-5-6
R4 5-6-4-10
R5 2-4-9-8
R6 10-3-7-6
R7 1-4-6-12
R8 9-6-7-10
R9 8-10-6-9

Best Bet R3 N7 Dream Warriors
Longshot R2 N5 Vukan
Plays R2 QQP 3-5-11

Mark McNamara:

R1 – 1.12.10.5
R2 – 5.11.7.10
R3 – 2.3.4.5
R4 – 6.5.4.9
R5 – 4.2.9.3
R6 – 7.3.2.10
R7 – 1.4.6.12
R8 – 7.2.6.10
R9 – 9.10.2.11