By Leo Schlink

Reprising his role as ‘King of the Valley,’ Caspar Fownes vaulted to the top of the 2025/26 Hong Kong trainers’ championship with a quartet at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (17 September).

Hong Kong’s most successful trainer at the track, Fownes boosted his career tally of wins at Happy Valley to 633 after combining with Ellis Wong to post a race-to-race double with Silver Spurs and Mighty Commander before Hugh Bowman triumphed on Rocket Spade, with Harry Bentley delivering a fourth success on Lo Rider.

Vincent Ho is loving being back in competition and the resolute 35-year-old hopes last-start winner Jumbo Legend (124lb) can kick off this season just as he ended the last in Wednesday night’s (17 September) HK$3.12 million Class 2 Shek O Handicap (1650m) for trainer Caspar Fownes at Happy Valley. 

Paul Lally:

R1: 1-2-4-8

R2: 3-6-4-12

R3: 2-9-1-8

R4: 6-3-9-1

R5: 1-4-12-3

R6: 9-11-2-6

R7: 1-4-3-7

R8: 4-7-1-6

Best bet: R4 N6 Another Zonda

Longshot: R6 N9 Super Universal

Play: R8 QQP 1-4-7

Tom Wood:

R1:       2-1-8-7

R2:       9-3-12-2

R3:       2-12-1-9

R4:       8-4-9-3

R5:       4-1-3-10

R6:       3-4-2-7

by Paul Ryding

Britney Wong underlined her potential as she reached a career milestone at Sha Tin on Sunday (14 September) when the 26-year-old achieved her 20th win in Hong Kong.

She rode two winners – reducing her apprentice’s claim to seven pounds from next week – on an intriguing day of racing that also featured a treble for Alexis Badel and doubles for Andrea Atzeni, Mark Newnham and Danny Shum.

Happy Valley Selections
(Wednesday, September 17, 2025)

The summertime migration from Arizona to Del Mar is understandable, with desert residents seeking cooler temperatures on the California coast.

This fall, Arizona Blaze, a speedy 3-year-old colt from Ireland, could be Del Mar-bound for a hot race after winning Sunday’s Group 1 Flying Five Stakes at the Curragh.

Arizona Blaze earned a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar on Nov. 1 with a game win from the front in the $468,800 Flying Five Stakes at five furlongs.

On both sides of the Irish Sea on Saturday, the well-backed colts Delacroix and Scandinavia gave the Coolmore syndicate and trainer Aidan O’Brien Group 1 wins with implications for major stakes later this year. 

Delacroix earned a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 1 with a win in the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes at 1 1/4 miles at Leopardstown Racecourse. Delacroix, however, has been mentioned as a candidate for the Group 1 Champion Stakes at 1 1/4 miles at Ascot Racecourse in Britain on Oct. 18. 

The 8-year-old gelding Mr Brightside proved impossible to catch in Saturday’s Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes at a mile at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia, beating a field that included Via Sistina, Australia’s reigning Horse of the Year. 

The victory was the 10th in a Group 1 for Mr Brightside, and the third consecutive year he has won the $495,000 Makybe Diva Stakes. He also won the $3.32 million All-Star Mile in 2023, a race that gained Grade 1 status earlier this year. 

By Paul Ryding

Brett Crawford believes he can get off the mark in Hong Kong at Sha Tin on Sunday (14 September) when he prepares his second runner in the city, with champion jockey Zac Purton in the saddle.

Top weight Only U (135lb) represents the South African handler’s sole entry at the meeting in the first section of the Class 5 Hong Tung Handicap (1400m), but Crawford is encouraged by the six-year-old’s solid recent form and the fact that the famously studious Purton thought enough of the horse’s chances to reach out and request the ride.