By Declan Schuster

After his devastating win in last month’s G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile, hometown hero Golden Sixty pleased his connections at Sha Tin this morning (Tuesday, 12 January) with a trial in typical fashion ahead of the G1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m) on Sunday, 24 January.

“I’m happy with his trial, in the trial you can relax him – he doesn’t show much, he never does,” Lui said.

By Leo Schlink

David Hayes and Blake Shinn will reunite with Harmony N Blessed at Happy Valley on Wednesday (13 January) night, optimistic the unbeaten sprinter can deliver further momentum for both trainer and jockey.

Accustomed to serial high achievement, Hayes and Shinn are both in rebuilding mode with the dual Hong Kong champion trainer in the throes of re-establishing his stable and the Melbourne Cup-winning jockey intent on adding further lustre to his international record.

Hayes has nine winners for the season; Shinn has seven.

Paul Lally:

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

Best Bet R9 N9 The Runner
Longshot R5 N2 Toms Style
Play QQP R5 2-5-10

Tom Wood:

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

A couple of winning streaks are on the line at the back end of a nine-race Happy Valley card Wednesday in Hong Kong.

Margie Bee found a $115,000 stakes final at Wyong Racecourse in Australia on Jan. 2 too difficult for her, finishing sixth at 14-1 in a field of 14.

The 5-year-old mare fits better in a seven-furlong handicap for fillies and mares at Warwick Farm Racecourse in Sydney on Wednesday.

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HAPPY VALLEY SELECTIONS
(Wednesday, January 13, 2021)

Paul Lally:

R1: 4-1-11-10

R2: 1-5-4-8

R3: 5-4-6-1

R4: 8-1-3-13

R5: 1-2-6-5

R6: 1-10-4-12

R7: 11-4-9-6

R8: 7-1-2-6

R9: 11-5-6-12

R10: 11-4-2-7

Best Bet: R5 N1 Like That

Longshot: R9 N11 Chater Pins

Play: R9 QQP 5-6-11

Mark McNamara:

R1: 1.4.10.3

R2: 5.1.2.7

R3: 4.3.1.9 

R4: 3.8.1.5

R5: 5.9.4.8

R6: 2.4.1.3

R7: 11.9.1.2

R8: 4.1.7.3

R9: 5.6.2.9

R10: 2.11.10.5

Best Bet: R6 N2 Decisive Action

They’re saving the best for last Sunday at Hong Kong, the feature, a Class 2 handicap over 1,400 meters on turf, carded as the last of 10 races at Sha Tin.

This is a hot-looking race, 14 strong, for horses rated 100-80, and includes horses making their first Hong Kong start and three entrants exiting good wins.

Last-start winners Excellent Proposal, Enrich Delight, and Lucky Patch all could make an appearance in the Four-year-old Classic series that begins later this month with the Classic Mile.

Almond Eye was named Japan’s 2020 Horse of the Year earlier this week, becoming the first two-time winner of the award since Kitasan Black in 2016-17 and the sixth repeat winner of this century.

Almond Eye clinched the title with a win in the Grade 1 Japan Cup on Nov. 29, her final career start and third Grade 1 win of 2020. By Deep Impact, Almond Eye won 3 of 4 starts in 2020, all at Tokyo Racecourse.

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.