Paul Lally:
R1 7-12-14-3
R2 1-3-6-2
R3 3-5-1-4
R4 13-2-4-8
R5 4-8-3-5
R6 2-1-12-11
R7 2-1-7-10
R8 13-11-12-8
R9 5-7-8-12
R10 2-7-10-13
Best Bet R6 N2 Not Usual Talent
Longshot R4 N13 Sure Win Win
Play QQP 1-2-12
Tom Wood:
R1: 7-5-3-2
R2: 7-1-3-2
R3: 5-1-3-8
R4: 2-6-7-8
R5: 3-4-6-8
R6: 1-2-3-11
R7: 1-2-3-7
R8: 9-3-6-1
R9: 8-5-13-3
R10: 11-2-3-9
By Leo Schlink
Zac Purton is hopeful Exultant can reprise a winning habit in the G3 Centenary Vase Handicap (1800m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (31 January) despite concerns Tony Cruz’s staying flagbearer’s elite qualities are in decline.
Triumphant in the past two editions of the Centenary Vase, Exultant’s hopes of a trio of consecutive successes in the race will rely partially on racing manners, according to reigning champion jockey Purton.
Exultant on Sunday at Sha Tin will try for his third straight win in the Group 3 Centenary Vase Handicap. That has a couple implications.
Exultant, first and foremost, has put together a sustained run of excellence. He was so good last season, in fact, that Exultant was named Hong Kong’s Horse of the Year. But it also means Exultant has been around the block a few times. The gelding is a 7-year-old now. He’s run three solid races this Hong Kong season, finishing second in each – solid, but not close to Exultant’s peak.
There is a familiarity to the field for Sunday’s Bega Cup at Sapphire Coast Racecourse in Australia.
The first four finishers of the Moruya Cup at Moruya Racecourse on Jan. 14, as well as the runners who were seventh and 12th, have drawn into the field of 16 for the Bega Cup. Roseirro, who was fifth at Moruya, is on the also-eligible list for Sunday’s race.
Althiqa closed strongly into a fast pace and easily won the Group 2, $163,000 Cape Verdi Stakes, featured race Thursday on the second program of the 2021 Dubai World Cup Carnival at Meydan.
The third choice in North American wagering behind two favorites also sent out by Althiqa’s owner, Godolphin, Althiqa dropped back to last in the early stages before swamping tiring rivals in the stretch. She crossed the line 2 1/4 lengths best in this 1,600-meter turf race for fillies and mares, stopping the timer in 1:35.08 over good ground.
Ole Kirk was so highly regarded for his debut that he was entered in a stakes in Australia for Southern Hemisphere 2-year-olds last February and won. Through 2020, Ole Kirk added to his reputation with consecutive wins in Group 1 races for Southern Hemisphere 3-year-olds in September and October.
Age-restricted races end for Ole Kirk when he starts in Saturday’s Group 2 Expressway Stakes against older horses at six furlongs at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Australia.
By Leo Schlink
Revitalised by a brief spell, emerging talent Columbus County will throw down the gauntlet to Hong Kong’s premier stayers in the G3 Centenary Vase Handicap (1800m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (31 January) as Caspar Fownes plots an ambitious path.
Freshened since a brave third to Ireland’s Mogul in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m) on 13 December, Columbus County will face a select group of rivals on Sunday, including the Tony Cruz triumvirate of Exultant, Furore and Time Warp.
Huffington has compiled an attractive record of three wins in four starts racing at some of Australia’s smaller venues.
Friday, Huffington will have her debut at a more prominent track – Flemington Racecourse, home of the Melbourne Cup – in a five-furlong handicap. Huffington will start in outstanding form, having won two starts at five furlongs since mid-December after a layoff of more than seven months.
Charlatan is in. Tacitus is in. England-based 4-year-old Mishriff, winner of the 2020 French Derby, is in. But whether Pegasus World Cup winner Knicks Go is in or out of the $20 million Saudi Cup on Feb. 20 remains to be determined.
A decision on whether Knicks Go goes for the Saudi Cup or waits for another spot, perhaps the Dubai World Cup, will be made by Monday, trainer Brad Cox said Tuesday.
Knicks Go flew from Florida back to his winter base at Fair Grounds in New Orleans on Sunday. Cox said he’ll return to the track to train sometime late this week.
