Al Ain won his first Grade 1 race in nearly two years with a 21-1 upset in Sunday’s $2.09 million Osaka Hai at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Hanshin Racecourse in Japan.

Ridden by Yuichi Kitamura, Al Ain, a 5-year-old by Deep Impact, finished a neck in front of 3-1 Kiseki, who was a neck in front of 7-1 Wagnerian.

Kiseki was second to Almond Eye in the Japan Cup last November. Almond Eye won Saturday’s Group 1 Dubai Turf in the United Arab Emirates. Wagnerian won the 2018 Japanese Derby.

Blast Onepiece, the 2-1 favorite, finished sixth of 14 in the Osaka Hai.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Saeed bin Suroor, the trainer of two-time Dubai World Cup winner Thunder Snow, isn’t a huge one for pulling back the curtain on his training operation, but whatever he and his team have done to harness the difficult personality that is Thunder Snow, it has worked.

Thunder Snow showed just what can happen when his inner demons bubble to the surface when he bucked and refused to race just after the start of the 2017 Kentucky Derby. Those who’ve been around him during his trips to the U.S. describe a horse who takes a lot of attention.

SHA TIN SELECTIONS

(Sunday, March 31)

:: Hong Kong: Free PPs, picks, and analysis

Brett Davis 

R1: 7-10-4-11

R2: 8-12-4-2

R3: 4-8-2-1

R4: 3-5-13-1

R5: 8-4-10-3

R6: 5-4-2-13

R7: 1-11-2-5

R8: 3-2-11-12

R9: 10-1-6-12

R10: 2-14-12-8

Best Bet – R1: #7 Marvelous World  

Longshot – R4: #13 Happy Cooperation

Best Play – R2: Q/Qp 2,4,8,12

Paul Lally

R1: 6-7-10-11

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Charlie Appleby set the table and Saeed bin Suroor cleared the decks. Godolphin’s two Dubai trainers landed a one-two-three-four punch on Dubai World Cup night. Appleby won three of the preliminaries before bin Suroor sent Thunder Snow out to become the first two-time winner of the Group 1, $12 million Dubai World Cup.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – She is the almond of Japan racing’s eye, the big apple, the nuts, and Saturday night in Dubai marked her first step toward taking on all le monde. Yes, the French is appropriate, because people with top-class middle-distance horses in Japan have a laser focus – to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. And after leaving home for the first time, Almond Eye looked, landing the Group 1, $6 million Dubai Turf on Saturday night at Meydan Racecourse, like she might be the first horse to do it.

With reigning Japanese Horse of the Year Almond Eye racing in Dubai this weekend, Sunday’s Grade 1 Osaka Hai Stakes at Hanshin Racecourse in Japan lacks a standout in a field of 14.

Three of the leading contenders will be coming off lengthy layoffs.

As of Friday, Blast Onepiece and Kiseki, who were first and fifth in the Grade 1 Arima Kinen at Nakayama on Dec. 23, were the leading contenders over Wagnerian, the winner of the Japanese Derby last May. Blast Onepiece and Kiseki have not raced since the Arima Kinen.

Hong Kong bettors were skeptical of Encouraging’s chances when the Australian-bred made the transition from Happy Valley Racecourse to a start in a tougher race at Sha Tin on March 17.

Encouraging handled the rise in class without difficulty, winning by 2 1/2 lengths at 19-1 for his third consecutive win for trainer John Moore.

Encouraging was boosted nine points in Hong Kong’s rating system, from 90 to 99, and will be the 133-pound topweight in Sunday’s $248,410 Tolo Harbour Handicap at seven furlongs at Sha Tin. This time, he will attract more support.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Really, Christophe Lemaire doesn’t know where he’ll be with Almond Eye a furlong into the $6 million Dubai Turf.

“If she breaks sharp and they go slow, she can sit close. If they go faster, she can be back. It doesn’t matter. She can be wherever she needs to be,” Lemaire said Wednesday at Meydan Racecourse.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – For a guy with a big bad-beat history at Meydan Racecourse, Jorge Navarro was a pretty happy dude early Thursday morning.

“I mean, c’mon, look at him,” Navarro said, pointing to X Y Jet, whose hindquarters, massive hams under splotched gray hide, churned over the Meydan dirt track.

SHA TIN SELECTIONS

(Sunday, March 31, 2019)

:: Hong Kong: Free PPs, picks, and analysis

Race 1: #10 Loriz, #11 Jimson The Dragon, #8 Red Brick Fighter, #12 Majestic Endeavour

Race 2: #12 Little Fantasy, #5 Royal Prerogative, #7 Amazing Gold #3 Young Glory

Race 3: #4 Everyone’s Joy, #6 New Dynamic, #7 Royal Mojito, #2 Bingo

Race 4: #5 Golden Sixty, #2 Fabulous Eight, #3 Brave Baby, #1 sonic Fighter