SHA TIN SELECTIONS
(Wednesday October 31, 2018)

Rey De Oro, fourth in the Group 1 Sheema Classic at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, won Sunday’s Grade 1 Tenno Sho Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse for his second consecutive win in the buildup to the Grade 1 Japan Cup on Nov. 25.

Ridden by Christophe Lemaire, Rey De Oro (2-1) closed from fifth in a field of 12 to reach contention in the final quarter-mile. Rey De Oro caught pacesetter Kinseki in the final sixteenth and won by 1 1/4 lengths over 8-1 Sungrazer, who finished a nose in front of 11-1 Kinseki.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the owner of Leicester City soccer club in England and an international stable of racehorses, died in a helicopter crash outside the soccer stadium on Saturday evening, the club confirmed on Sunday.

“It is with the deepest regret and a collective broken heart that we confirm our chairman, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, was among those to have tragically lost their lives on Saturday evening,” the club wrote in a brief statement on its website.

There was not much new under the European sun this weekend as decades-old powerhouses Godolphin and Coolmore won Group 1 2-year-old races.

Already a legend, Winx achieved a unique milestone in racing history on Saturday with a record fourth consecutive win in the Group 1 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia, her 29th straight win.

The win was expected – Winx was 1-5 – and she performed to the height of her ability, prevailing by two lengths over Benbatl, a Group 1 winner in Dubai, Germany, and Australia this year. The $3.53 million Cox Plate is run at 1 1/2 miles on turf and is Australia’s top weight-for-age race.

Brett Davis

R1 – 4-6-2-10

R2 – 4-3-5-1

R3 – 11-12-7-2

R4 – 3-11-8-9

R5 – 6-1-10-7

R6 – 3-4-2-7

R7 – 5-6-7-9

R8 -1-2-6-9

R9 – 11-10-7-8

R10 - 3-11-8-2

Best Bet – R5 n6   The Createth  

Longshot – R3 n11 Shining On

Best Play – R1   Q/Qp   2,4,6

Paul Lally

R1 - 4-10-2-6

R2 - 4-9-10-1

R3 - 7-1-10-6

R4 - 3-8-11-5

R5 - 7-1-8-6

R6 - 4-9-2-8

R7 - 1-5-6-4

R8 - 1-9-3-6

R9 - 10-6-11-4

R10 - 8-6-7-3

A workers’ protest forced the cancellation of the Criterium International a year ago, but as far as anyone knows, the Group 1 race for 2-year-olds over one mile at Saint-Cloud is on again Sunday.

Winning is for the most part the whole idea of horse racing. But under the handicap system that governs Hong Kong racing, winning comes with a down-side. Win a handicap race and the Hong Kong handicapper will raise your rating. That means either moving up in class to face stronger competition or adding weight if the ratings rise keeps the horse in the same condition.

Suave Richard, the winner of the Grade 1 Osaka Hai in April, will have his first start since June in Sunday’s Grade 1 Tenno Sho Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse, a vital prep race for the Grade 1 Japan Cup at the same venue on Nov. 25.

Suave Richard was third in the Grade 1 Yasuda Kinen Stakes at a mile at Tokyo on June 3 and is one of several notable runners in a field of 14 in the $2.59 million Tenno Sho, which is run at 1 1/4 miles on turf.

There are two runnings of the Tenno Sho each year – a spring race at two miles at Hanshin Racecourse in April and Sunday’s race.

Aidan O’Brien has three 2-year-old fillies pre-entered in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and two 2-year-old colts pre-entered in the $1 million Breeder’s Cup Juvenile Turf. And there are plenty more where those came from.

O’Brien has two more juveniles entered in the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud on Saturday in France and three, including favored Magna Grecia, in the Group 1 Vertem Futurity Trophy Stakes on Saturday at Doncaster in England.