This has been a tough week for Waikuku in advance of Sunday’s $2.29 million Hong Kong Derby at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong.
Last Sunday, Waikuku was found to have a sore foot, which was a short-term concern, trainer John Size told Hong Kong publicity.
Post positions were drawn from the Hong Kong Derby on Thursday. Waikuku will start from the outside in a field of 14 in the race at 1 1/4 miles on turf with a relatively short run to the first turn.
CHELTENHAM, England – No horse has won consecutive runnings of the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 15 years, since the famous Best Mate was victorious for the third straight year in 2004. Kauto Star won the Gold Cup in 2007 and 2009 and was second in 2008. In this decade, Long Run, the 2011 winner, has come the closest, finishing third in 2012 and 2013.
Finally, the Australian older horses Happy Clapper and Hartnell are starting in a major race without that pesky superstar Winx hogging all the attention.
Saturday at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia, Happy Clapper and Hartnell are part of a field of 14 in the newly-created $3.53 million All-Star Mile, billed as the world’s richest mile race. The Breeders’ Cup Mile, the richest turf mile in the United States, had a purse of $2 million at Churchill Downs last November.
HAPPY VALLEY SELECTIONS
(Wednesday, March 13)
Brett Davis
R1: 8-1-12-7
R2: 8-6-4-11
R3: 5-8-10-1
R4: 6-2-1-3
R5: 1-7-6-2
R6: 12-7-9-10
R7: 6-1-9-12
R8: 8-5-6-1
Best Bet – R8: #8 Sparkling Dragon
Longshot – R4: #6 Enjoy Life
Best Play – R5: Quin 1 / 6,7
Paul Lally
R1: 6-12-4-3
R2: 7-4-3-12
R3: 5-9-8-10
R4: 6-2-1-5
R5: 7-1-6-2
R6: 9-12-4-10
R7: 1-6-9-8
R8: 1-8-4-3
HAPPY VALLEY SELECTIONS
(Wednesday, March 13, 2019)
RACE 1: #4 District Express, #5 Show Mission, #7 Raichu, #12 Happy Happy
RACE 2: #4 Wah May Princess, #9 All Great Friends, #12 Nice Kick, # 7 Little Wise Man
RACE 3: #12 Nice Fandango, #2 Look Eras, #8 Gracious Ryder, #4 Travel Datuk
RACE 4: #2 Super Lucky, #5 Alpha Hedge, #12 Lucky Shiny Day, #3 Champion Supreme
The race distances range from two miles to nearly four. The purses run from $59,000 to $818,000. The runners are as young as 4, while some are teenagers. The interest is more difficult to quantify.
The Cheltenham Festival is nearly here. From Tuesday through Friday at Cheltenham Racecourse about 100 miles west of London, 28 races will be contested, mostly over hurdles and steeplechases.
SHA TIN SELECTIONS
(Sunday, March 10)
:: Hong Kong: Free PPs, picks, and analysis
Brett Davis
R1: 2-4-1
R2: 4-2-8-5
R3: 3-1-10-2
R4: 1-9-7-12
R5: 13-12-5-6
R6: 4-11-1-8
R7: 3-2-1-10
R8: 5-4-9-1
R9: 6-2-1-5
R10: 6-3-2-11
R11: 11-5-6-2
Best Bet – R3: #3 Golden Four
Longshot – R11: #11 Smart Patch
Best Play – R3: Tce R3 / 1,2,5,10
Andrew Le Jeune
Godolphin, as usual, has dominated turf-route racing during the 2019 Dubai World Cup Carnival and they did so again on the Super Saturday card at Meydan Racecourse.
Dream Castle, trained by Saeed bin Suroor, won the Group 1, $400,000 Jebel Hatta, leading a Godolphin sweep of the top three placings, while Old Persian stormed home to win the Group 2, $300,000 City of Gold heading a Godolphin one-two.
Capezzano went into Saturday’s program at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai with the look of a Group 2-level dirt miler. He came out of it looking like a contender for the $12 million Dubai World Cup on March 30 after winning the Group 1, $600,000 Maktoum Challenge Round 3 by 9 1/2 lengths.
