SHA TIN SELECTIONS
(Sunday, December 20, 2020)

Since the first of October, the handicap rating of the 4-year-old Australian-bred gelding Knight has risen steadily, boosted by two wins in his last three starts.

With a higher rating comes tougher races, at least in theory. Knight may be in a position to exploit his status in Friday’s Fred Cooper Cup at a mile at Goulborn Racecourse in New South Wales.

Knight is booked to carry 124.5 pounds, well below topweight Spunlago at 143.3 pounds, or Pirate Ben who is second in the weights at 133 pounds.

On consecutive days earlier this month, Amica and Secretly Awesome won handicaps at 1 1/8 miles in Australia by less than a length.

For Amica, a 4-year-old Australian-bred mare, a win on the Kensington course at Royal Randwick on Dec. 4 was her second in three starts and fourth of her 10-race career. A day later at Newcastle, Secretly Awesome won for the third time in his sixth career start, his first victory since May.

By Leo Schlink

Reinvigorated after a two-week break, Blake Shinn is optimistic Handsome Bo Bo can reprise a distant habit of building winning streaks with a strong performance in the Class 3 Cochrane Handicap (1000m) at Happy Valley on Wednesday (16 December).

The Australian-bred galloper made an immediate impact in Hong Kong in 2018, following a debut fourth with a hat-trick of victories over the 1200-metres course at Sha Tin.

Swift Witness will have her career debut in Wednesday’s $150,800 Magic Millions 2-year-old Classic at Wyong Racecourse in Australia with the expectation of immediate success.

The 2-year-old Southern Hemisphere filly was purchased for $179,400 as a yearling in January and is trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, who have won this race the last two years.

By Leo Schlink

Vindicating Aidan O’Brien’s long-held faith, Mogul has emphatically underlined claims as heir apparent to Ballydoyle’s throne after claiming victory in the HK$20 million LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m).

Providing Aidan O’Brien’s third triumph in the race, adding to Highland Reel’s 2015 and 2017 wins, Mogul downed Hong Kong champion Exultant and Columbus County to also give Ryan Moore his third Vase success.

By Declan Schuster

Danon Smash followed in the footsteps of his sire Lord Kanaloa with a thrilling victory for Japan in the 2020 G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m), their third in the HK$22 million contest’s 21-year history.

“It is a very pleasing moment that Lord Kanaloa and Danon Smash, sire and son could achieve their Hong Kong wins – it’s a happy moment,” Mr. Chaki, trainer Takayuki Yasuda’s representative.

They came, they saw, they tried to blunt his dash, but they failed to conquer Golden Sixty: Hong Kong’s burgeoning hometown hero dismantled his international rivals in the HK$25 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile at Sha Tin with an exquisite performance.

“He’s amazing, isn’t he?” jockey Vincent Ho said, moments after the brilliant five-year-old unleashed an unanswerable burst of speed that carried him to a dazzling two-length victory.

For Ho and trainer Francis Lui, Golden Sixty’s success is a first at the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races.

By Leo Schlink

Zac Purton has crowned a week of stellar milestones by becoming the first rider in history to partner nine LONGINES Hong Kong International Races winners after Japanese mare Normcore upstaged Win Bright and Magical in the HK$28 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m).

Purton, 37, gained the ride on the grey after Christophe Soumillon was forced to forfeit the mount after failing to secure an unconditional release from quarantine following a COVID test on Thursday.

“It is important to have these global events. We are very proud that as a team, we pulled this off,” he said.