Paul Lally:
R1 7-3-5-12
R2 2-3-8-4
R3 5-3-1-9
R4 9-10-1-7
R5 1-9-5-2
R6 4-8-5-2
R7 2-3-6-5
R8 8-4-2-7
R9 9-1-8-4
Best R9 N9 Everstar
Longshot R4 N9 Legend Star
Play R8 QQp 2-4-8
Nick Child:
R1 | 7-5-4-12
R2 | 3-2-4-6
R3 | 4-8-5-3
R4 | 2-1-3-11
R5 | 4-8-1-2
R6 | 4-8-5-9 (WIN 4)
R7 | 1-6-5-2
R8 | 3-8-2-6
R9 | 8-4-1-2 (Q/QP 1-4-8)
by Declan Schuster
Hong Lok Golf (127lb) passed the grade test in style last start and on Wednesday night (11 June) Chris So’s classy galloper heads to Happy Valley for the first time to contest the HK$3.12 million Class 2 Cheung Sha Handicap (1650m) after exclusively racing at Sha Tin across his initial six starts.
By Leo Schlink
David Eustace added further lustre to a burgeoning Hong Kong debut season when emerging talent Light Years Charm swept to victory in the HK$2.84 million Class 2 Lee On Handicap (1400m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (8 June), presenting the young trainer with his 30th winner of the campaign.
By Rubick, Light Years Charm (121lb) gave Eustace his first Class 2 triumph and collected a PP Bonus of HK$1.5 million – plus prizemoney of HK$1.59 million – after Zac Purton patiently piloted the four-year-old to his third win from eight starts.
Trainer Aidan O’Brien landed this 11th Derby on Saturday at Epsom Downs and did so with the longest price among his three runners. Lambourn set out for the lead straight from gate, appeared to set a strong pace, and never had an anxious moment, crossing the line a 3 3/4-length winner under Wayne Lordan, a longtime fixture in the O’Brien orbit who won his first Derby.
Minnie Hauk, making her fourth start, outdueled stablemate Whirl in the final furlong to win Friday’s Group 1 English Oaks at Epsom Racecourse in Britain, giving trainer Aidan O’Brien an 11th career win in the historic race.
Minnie Hauk, ridden by Ryan Moore, won by a neck over 6-1 Whirl, who set the pace. Desert Flower, previously unbeaten in five starts, including the Group 1 English 1000 Guineas at a mile at Newmarket on May 4, finished third, beaten 4 1/4 lengths in her first race beyond a mile.
By Leo Schlink
Aiming to close an impressive first season in Hong Kong with a flourish, David Eustace hopes Light Years Charm can handle a rise in grade when he tackles the HK$2.84 million Class 2 Lee On Handicap (1400m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (8 June).
Eustace, 32, has saddled 29 winners from 297 starters in a fine Hong Kong debut season and the Englishman is optimistic Light Years Charm can maintain the stable’s momentum with a third victory at Sha Tin.
Soul Rush, the 2024 champion miler in Japan, secured a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Mile on Nov. 1 at Del Mar with his upset victory in the Group 1 Dubai Turf in the United Arab Emirates in April.
Two months later, Soul Rush is back in Japan and the focus of attention in Sunday’s Grade 1 Yasuda Kinen at Tokyo Racecourse, the country’s leading mile race for older horses in the first half of the year.
The winner of the $2.41 million Yasuda Kinen will receive a fees-paid berth to the BC Mile. Soul Rush will need another world-class effort to beat 17 rivals.
