The Kentucky-bred gelding Highland Fortune has made his mark as a successful sprinter in Ireland and Hong Kong in recent years.
In 2018, Highland Fortune was second in the El Gran Senor Stakes at Tipperary Racecourse in Ireland. Sent to Hong Kong in late 2018, Highland Fortune has won 2 of 11 starts on that circuit with both wins at Happy Valley Racecourse in June.
At the age of 9, Andreini accomplished a career first in October in Australia by winning consecutive starts for the first time.
A winner of 9 of 53 starts, Andreini will attempt to win his third consecutive race in the York Cup at 1 3/16 miles at York Racecourse in the state of Western Australia on Sunday.
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Arcadia Queen had mixed results in two of Australia’s leading races in October, winning the Group 1 Caulfield Stakes in a minor upset on Oct. 10 and finishing fifth against a superstar field in the Group 1 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley two weeks later.
Sir Dragonet and Russian Camelot, who were first and third in the Cox Plate, finished sixth and eighth in Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup at Flemington.
Between Group 1 programs on Thursday and Saturday at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, the racing scene in Australia is quieter on Friday.
Tiny Kempsey Racecourse, well north of Sydney, hosts its namesake race on Friday – the Kempsey Cup at 7 1/4 furlongs, which drew a full field of 12.
As of Wednesday, Asudem was the 9-5 favorite in early betting, but Chamisal, Editors and Mo the Great have credentials that could yield a win.
Sky Sports Racing senior analyst Jamie Lynch is offering a complete rundown of the Breeders' Cup European shippers in our Breeders’ Cup Guide. This excerpt covers the Juvenile Turf Sprint. To get coverage of the rest of the races click here.
JUVENILE TURF SPRINT
MIGHTY GURKHA
Style: prominent racer
Montefilia will be an odds-on favorite to win her third consecutive Group 1 race in the $716,000 Kennedy Oaks on Thursday at Flemington Racecourse in Australia, with the only real suspense involving how she will handle the new distance of 1 9/16 miles.
A winner of 4 of 7 starts, Montefilia has not raced beyond 1 1/4 miles, a trip she handled without difficulty by winning the Group 1 Champion Stakes against 3-year-old males on Oct. 10 at Royal Randwick. Montefilia closed from sixth in a field of 13 to win by three-quarters of a length over Lion’s Roar.
Twilight Payment, who raced earlier this year with mixed results in Saudi Arabia and Ireland, led throughout Tuesday’s Group 1 Melbourne Cup to record a surprise win in Australia’s most famous race.
Ridden by Jye McNeil for Irish trainer Joseph O’Brien, Twilight Payment ($58.70 in American pools) was fully extended in the final sixteenth of the two-mile race to prevail by a half-length over 4-1 favorite Tiger Moth, trained by Joseph O’Brien’s father, Aidan.
Paul Lally:
R1 1-12-5-2
R2 4-11-2-6
R3 1-5-2-3
R4 3-1-7-11
R5 6-9-2-5
R6 10-3-2-8
R7 4-6-1-2
R8 1-3-6-12
Best Bet R7 N4 Czarson
Long Shot R6 N10 Party Genius
Play R7 QQP 1-4-6
Tom Wood:
R1: 1-9-5-10
R2: 4-6-1-11
R3: 1-3-5-8
R4: 3-1-11-12
R5: 9-6-2-5
R6: 8-2-3-10
R7: 1-2-3-4
R8: 6-3-1-2
BEST: R8 – 6 RIGHTEOUS DOCTRINE (EW)
VALUE: R5 – 9 WINNING STRIKES (EW)
PLAY: R8 – QQP 1,3,6
The last time Kings Shield raced at about a mile on the infield dirt track at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong he led throughout to win a handicap in late May.
Kings Shield lost three subsequent starts, two turf races at Happy Valley and Sha Tin in June and July and a seventh-place finish in a six-furlong handicap on dirt at Sha Tin on Oct. 18.
