Youngstar and Kings Will Dream chased Australian Horse of the Year Winx when second and third in the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia, on Oct. 6.
Winx, who has won an astonishing 28 consecutive races, is a massive favorite to win an unprecedented fourth consecutive running of the Group 1 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley Racecourse on Oct. 27.
The improving 3-year-old Red Warrior is expected to start favored in Thursday’s $176,103 Roselle Handicap at Happy Valley Racecourse in Hong Kong.
Judging from his race record in England last winter, and a victory in his last start at Happy Valley, Red Warrior could be a horse to follow in coming months in Hong Kong.
Until Sunday, Gentildonna in 2012 was the last horse to sweep the Japan Fillies Triple Crown, and she turned out okay, winning the Japan Cup in 2012 and 2013 and the Dubai Sheema Classic in 2014.
If all goes well, Almond Eye, who swept the Fillies Triple Crown on Sunday at Kyoto in the Group 1 Shuka Sho, might wind up just as accomplished as Gentildonna.
It was a slow, wet climb, but Redzel scaled the mountain again, winning the Everest Stakes – and the riches that come with it – for the second year in a row.
Redzel won the inaugural Everest one year ago at Randwick in Sydney, Australia, and won it again on a rainy Saturday during a rainy week.
Dirt racing places a distant second to turf in Hong Kong, but the featured ninth race on a relatively rare Saturday card at Sha Tin will look like a vast number of American races – six furlongs on dirt.
The Tsuen Lok Handicap, a Class 2 for horses rated 100 to 80, is contested around one bend at 1200 meters and drew 12 entrants. California Fortune is top-rated at 96 but lacks dirt credentials and is far from the most likely winner over the surface.
In winning the first two legs of the Japanese Fillies Triple Crown, the brilliant filly Almond Eye has felt the crop wielded by jockey Christophe Lemaire only three times.
When she stormed home in winning the Oka Sho, a 1,600-meter right-handed race at Hanshin, passing nearly the entire field in the final quarter-mile, Almond Eye was hand-ridden to victory.
Iridessa came between horses – and came between a lot of people and their wagers – winning the Group 1 Fillies Mile on Friday at Newmarket.
At 14-1 on the North American tote, Iridessa was the second-longest price in an eight-runner field, but it looked likely the Fillies Mile was coming up light for a top-level race and might be open to some degree of chaos. Iridessa provided it.
SHA TIN SELECTIONS
(Saturday, October 13)
:: Hong Kong: Free PPs, picks, and analysis
Brett Davis
R1: 3-9-4-8
R2: 6-1-2-5
R3: 2-9-3-1
R4: 5-3-2-7
R5: 1-14-8-5
R6: 7-4-11-6
R7: 1-6-3-4
R8: 11-3-8-12
R9: 10-7-1-6
R10: 11-4-12-3
Best Bet – R2: #6 Beauty Day
Longshot – R5: #5 Clear Choice
Best Play – R8: Q/Qp 3,8,11
Andrew Le Jeune
