Some people believe that imputing a will to win to horses is a merely anthropomorphic act. They would be hard-pressed to maintain that position after watching Roaring Lion win the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes by a neck over Saxon Warrior on Saturday at Leopardstown Racecourse.

The girl could not quite beat the boys on Saturday at Doncaster Racecourse in England.

Favored filly Lah Ti Dar took a good long run at Kew Gardens in the Group 1 St. Leger Stakes, the last European classic race of the season, but Kew Gardens never wavered, bravely seeing out the testing 1 13/16 miles to post a 2 1/4-length victory.

Winx extended her winning streak to 27 races with an emphatic victory in Saturday’s Group 1 Optic White Stakes at Royal Randwick, moving closer to an attempt at an historic fourth consecutive win in the Group 1 Cox Plate on Oct. 27.

No horse has won four runnings of the Cox Plate, Australia’s leading weight-for-age race, and Winx is already a massive favorite to win the turf race at 1 1/4 miles at Moonee Valley Racecourse.

Fourteen are entered for the Class 2 Woodpecker Handicap, the Sunday feature at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong. Whether they get to take their place in the starting gate depends on Super Typhoon Mangkhut.

The typhoon was spinning Friday toward the South China Sea and is expected to bring heavy rain to Hong Kong on Sunday, possibly enough to force the cancellation of racing. If nothing else, the ground could be sodden for a 10-race card scheduled to start at 1 a.m. Eastern.

The improving filly Kitesurf and the established veteran Talismanic, winner of the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar, give Godolphin Racing and trainer Andre Fabre the favorites in two of the three major prep races for the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp Racecourse on Sunday in Paris.

Order of St. George, the best staying horse in Europe during 2016 and 2017, was retired by trainer Aidan O’Brien earlier this week. Six-year-old Order of St. George had his coming-out party as a 3-year-old in the 2015 Irish St. Leger and won it again last year, but even absent his former staying star, O’Brien might be in line to win the race a fifth time.

Roaring Lion will be heavily favored to add the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes on Saturday at Leopardstown Racecourse to his already considerable seasonal haul.

Three-year-old Roaring Lion has come around beautifully for trainer John Gosden this season and enters the Irish Champion following a narrow win over Saxon Warrior on July 7 in the Group 1 Eclipse Stakes and a pasting of the top-level winner Poet’s Word in the Group 1 Juddmonte International on Aug. 22 at York.

SHA TIN SELECTIONS

(Sunday, September 16, 2018)

RACE 1: #5 E Master, #3 Happy Tour, #1 Impeccable Fellow, #10 Manful Star

RACE 2: #5 Dutch Windmill, #9 Top Ace, #3 Glenealy Prize, #2 Gloriam

RACE 3: #5 Penang Hall, #1 Smart Leader, #2 Hang's Decision, #8 Green Card

RACE 4: #13 The Legend, #11 Sea Pearl, #6 Lucky Storm, #3 Laugh Out Loud

RACE 5: #3 Comfort Life, #4 Sun Touch, #7 Invincible Fresh, #2 Keen Venture

Through her historic 26-race winning streak, the Australian superstar Winx has won 15 races at Royal Randwick Racecourse on the outskirts of Sydney, including 10 Group 1 races.

Two of those wins came in September 2016 and 2017 in the Group 1 Optic White Stakes at a mile, a race known historically as the George Main Stakes. Friday, Winx is back at Randwick for the latest running of the $358,450 Optic White Stakes, which is unlikely to interrupt her winning streak.

Brett Davis:

R1 – 5-8-1-4
R2 – 1-6-8-7
R3 – 4-2-1-6
R4 – 2-1-6-11
R5 – 4-11-1-9
R6 – 8-7-3-2
R7 – 8-5-3-6
R8 – 9-5-1-4

Best – R2 N1 All You Need
Longshot – R6 N7 Super Wise
Best Play – R7 Trio 8/3,5,6,10

Andrew Le Jeune:

R1: 8-7-5-2
R2: 6-8-1-4
R3: 4-2-1-5
R4: 2-1-6-9
R5: 4-2-1-5
R6: 3-7-2-5
R7: 8-6-10-3
R8: 2-7-3-5

Best: R3 N4 Super Form
Long: R8 N7 Kingsfield
Play: R3 Q/QP 1-2-4