Il Mercato won the most prestigious race of his career in Saturday’s Group 1 Gran Premio International Carlos Pellegrini at San Ysidro Racecourse in Argentina to earn a fees-paid berth to the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita.

Il Mercato, ridden by Juan Noreiga, was 16-1 and finished a head in front of Sixties Song, the 2-1 favorite in the $319,394 race at 1 1/2 miles on turf. For the Top, the winner of the Group 1 Argentine Derby at 1 1/2 miles on dirt in November, finished third at 5-1 in the field of 18.

SHA TIN SELECTIONS

(Sunday, December 16)

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

Brett Davis

R1: 1-4-2-3

R2: 11-1-5-7

R3: 12-1-10-7

R4: 5-3-7-9

R5: 7-6-1-13

R6: 6-1-4-9

R7: 8-10-2-1

R8: 1-9-7-3

R9: 2-3-7-1

R10: 14-12-2-4

R11: 10-2-7-4

Best Bet – R4: #5 Smiling Pride  

Longshot – R2: #5 Family Leader

Best Play – R3: Q/Qp 1,10,12

The featured ninth race Sunday at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong is a class 2 handicap over about seven furlongs for horses rated 105-80. That’s what it is. What it might be is a sneak peek at the 4-year-old championship series next year.

Four of the 13 entered make their Hong Kong debut and are either 3-year-olds on Northern Hemisphere time or 4-year-olds bred in the Southern Hemisphere, both sets of which are eligible for the three-race, 4-year-old championship series, the closest Hong Kong gets to a triple crown. 

The 2019 Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita is more than 10 months away, but a berth to the $4 million race is available to the winner of Saturday’s Group 1 Gran Premio International Carlos Pellegrini at San Isidro Racecourse in Argentina.

The $319,394 Carlos Pellegrini is the most prominent race in South America, bringing together several of the country’s top runners in a race at 1 1/2 miles, the same distance as the BC Turf.

SHA TIN SELECTIONS

(Sunday, December 16, 2018)

RACE 1: #3 Pearl Furu, #2 Penzance, #1 Clement Legend, #5 Triumph

RACE 2: #4 Ezra, #3 Intrepic, #1 Have Fun Together, #9 Lightning Treasure

RACE 3: #6 Meridian Genius, #11 Yichun Blitz, #1 Multimillion, #3 Bumble Baby

RACE 4: #4 Friends Of Nanjing, #6 Heroic Guru, #9 Golden Four, #10 Le Panache

RACE 5: #12 Scarborough Fair, #1 Natural Flare, #7 Royal Prerogative, #6 Hurricane Hunter

HAPPY VALLEY SELECTIONS

(Wednesday, Decemer 12)

Brett Davis 

R1: 1-2-9-6

R2: 1-2-10-8

R3: 7-6-2-3

R4: 1-10-11-4

R5: 1-8-11-3

R6: 8-6-7-5

R7: 3-8-11-1

R8: 5-12-3-4

Best Bet – R3: #7   Amazing Gold

Longshot – R4: #11   Deal Maker

Best Play – Q/Qp: R4 1,10,11

Andrew Le Jeune

R1: 9-1-2-5

R2: 10-2-4-9

R3: 2-1-3-7

R4: 4-10-1-5

R5: 8-1-3-6

R6: 8-2-7-12

R7: 11-4-8-6

This has been a tumultuous year for the Brazilian jockey Joao Moriera.

A native of Brazil, Moreira announced he was relocating from Hong Kong to Japan in the spring, and then lost his Hong Kong riding title to Zac Purton in the summer. Earlier this fall, Moreira learned he did not gain a full-time license to ride in Japan after failing a written exam required of foreign jockeys.

HAPPY VALLEY SELECTIONS
(Wednesday December 12, 2018)

HONG KONG – Hong Kong trainer Frankie Lor won his first Group 1 race Sunday at Sha Tin Racecourse when Mr. Stunning took the Hong Kong Sprint. Two hours later, Glorious Forever gave Lor a second win on the Hong Kong International Races card with a victory in the Hong Kong Cup, giving Hong Kong horses a sweep of the day’s four Group 1s.

Under Silvestre de Sousa, Glorious Forever emulated Time Warp’s win in the 2017 Cup, whipping straight to the lead and never giving it up.

HONG KONG – Beauty Generation’s saucer-shaped feet have given him trouble this autumn. In the Group 1, $3.2 million Hong Kong Mile on Sunday at Sha Tin Racecourse, he ran a good field right off their feet.

Owned by a Hong Kong family with a cosmetics empire, Beauty Generation stripped the make-up from 13 rivals and unmasked them as plain Janes shrinking in the shadows of his brilliance.