Mission Tycoon was overmatched in the Hong Kong Derby in March and two group-level stakes in April and June. His best finish in those races was a fourth in the Group 3 Lion Rocky Trophy in June.

For his first start of the current 2019-2020 Hong Kong season, Mission Tycoon will start in a much easier race in Wednesday’s $284,429 Big Wave Bay Handicap at Happy Valley Racecourse. The eight-race program is the first evening of racing of the  season at Happy Valley. The season began earlier this month with two programs at Sha Tin Racecourse.

HAPPY VALLEY SELECTIONS
(Wednesday, 11 September, 2019)

Circus Maximus (4-1) beat Romanised by a nose in Sunday’s Group 1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp at a mile on turf at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, but kept the win only after an inquiry into the stretch run.

Circus Maximus, ridden by Ryan Moore drifted out in the final sixteenth which forced out 2-1 favorite Romanised. The order of finish was not changed.

Hello Youmzain inherited the role of co-favorite for Saturday’s Group 1 Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock Park in England after the scratches of two leading contenders and led throughout the weakened six-furlong race.

The $366,000 Sprint Cup was greatly diminished by the withdrawal on Friday of the 3-year-old Group 1 sprint winners Advertise, because of illness, and Ten Sovereigns, because of soft turf.

Race 1 – 6-1-2-10-3
Race 2 – 2-3-9-4-7
Race 3 – 14-5-12-6-2
Race 4 – 5-6-1-11-2
Race 5 – 4-11-8-5-1
Race 6 – 5-1-10-7-4
Race 7 – 8-6-2-5-3
Race 8 – 9-2-7-3-11
Race 9 – 8-11-4-6-2
RACE 10 – 11-3-1-12-8

Best Bet – R2 N2 Such A Happiness
Longshot – R3 N14 Money Marshall
Best Play – R3 Q/Qp 5,6,12,14

Paul Lally:

Yee Cheong Baby arrived in Hong Kong from Australia last November and made a favorable impression, winning his first two starts in the territory in April and May.

From late May to early July, Yee Cheong Baby hung out by the pool. To be more specific, his training schedule consisted only of swimming during that time. Track exercise resumed in early July in preparation for his third start in Hong Kong in Sunday’s $267,881 Po Yan Handicap at six furlongs at Sha Tin Racecourse.

Romanised, the winner of the Group 1 Prix Jacque le Marois at Deauville last month, can solidify his claim as the leading turf miler in Europe in Sunday’s Group 1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris.

Romanised won the $1.2 million Jacques le Marois by 1 1/4 lengths over Shaman, who is part of the field for the $496,620 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp along with third-place finisher Line of Duty.

A potential fourth meeting of the year between the 3-year-old Group 1 sprint winners Advertise and Ten Sovereigns in Saturday’s Group 1 Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock Park depends on the British weather.

Trainer Aidan O’Brien has warned that Ten Sovereigns may miss the six-furlong race if the ground is too soft. Rain is forecast leading to the race.

SHA TIN SELECTIONS
(Sunday, 8 September, 2019)

The Hong Kong Jockey Club has sent a letter to Betfair Australia demanding that the company stop offering the Jockey Club’s races on its betting exchange, claiming that the company has violated its intellectual property rights and ignored its “grave concerns and opposition” to exchange wagering.

The letter, sent on Sept. 4 and distributed publicly the same day, said that Betfair Australia began offering exchange wagering on the HKJC’s races at its Sha Tin racecourse on Sept. 1, without authorization from the HKJC and with the knowledge that the HKJC was opposed to the practice.