Two sharp horses top the last of three Class 3 handicaps on the Wednesday card at Happy Valley Racecourse in Hong Kong.
Savaquin and Sunny Star exit decisive wins at the class level and distance, 1,650 meters. Both are relatively lightly raced 4-year-olds whose best form still should be in front of them and who can reasonably be expected to hold their strong form.
Biometric has had nine starts since he won the Britannia Stakes at 28-1 at Royal Ascot in England in June 2019. The losing streak comprises three races in England later that year and six starts in Australia since last May.
Biometric was fourth, beaten about 2 1/2 lengths in the Group 3 Carlyon Cup at a mile at Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne on Feb. 6, missing second by three-quarters of a length.
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.
