HAPPY VALLEY SELECTIONS
(Wednesday, October 25, 2017)
Brett Davis
Race 1: 3-7-5-4
Race 2: 3-5-11-10
Race 3: 4-3-2-6
Race 4: 4-3-9-12
Race 5: 6-2-8-10
Race 6: 9-11-12-3
Race 7: 4-10-2-6
Race 8: 10-1-4-12
Best Bet - Race 1: #3 Ensuring
Longshot - Race 6: #9 Unique Joyous
Best Play - Race 6: Q/QP 9,11,12
The Perfect Gear Handicap on Wednesday at Happy Valley Racecourse in Hong Kong is the ideally named race for the 5-year-old gelding Starlight.
Starlight, the 131-pound topweight, has a late rally that has carried him to victories in three of his last four starts. The $167,948 Perfect Gear Handicap at six furlongs on turf is a race Starlight can win with a similar run.
HAPPY VALLEY SELECTIONS
(Wednesday, October 25, 2017)
RACE 1: #1 Happilababy, #3 Ensuring, #5 Gorgeous Again, #2 Jolly Gene
RACE 2: #3 Victory Follow Me, #5 Gobi Storm, #11 Spicy Double, #2 Agiaal
RACE 3: #2 Cloud Nine, #4 The Jazz, #5 Happy Rocky, #6 Amazing Gold
RACE 4: #4 Speedy King, #11 Peace Combination, #7 Richcity Fortune, #5 Noble De Boy
Kiseki won his first stakes and his fourth race in an eight-race career Sunday with the Grade 1 Japanese St. Leger at 1 7/8 miles on turf for 3-year-old colts and fillies at Kyoto Racecourse.
Ridden by Mirco Demuro for Katsuhiko Sumii, Kiseki, the 7-2 favorite, closed from midpack in a field of 18 to win by two lengths over 29-1 Clincher. Popocatepetl, a 43-1 longshot, finished third. Al Ain, the winner of the Grade 1 Japanese 2000 Guineas in April, could finish only seventh as the 7-2 second choice.
Mr. Stunning cemented his position as one of the top sprinters in Hong Kong, while Beauty Generation hinted he could join the elite division of Hong Kong milers in races Sunday at Sha Tin.
Mr. Stunning won the Group 2, $512,250 Premier Bowl by a half-length over favored Lucky Bubbles, going 1,200 meters (about six furlongs) in 1:08.12 over a good-to-firm course. Amazing Kids finished another length back in third, while second choice Thewizardofoz raced last for much of the trip and never mounted much of a rally, coming home ninth.
A pair of Group 2 races, one for sprinters and one for milers, brings out some of the best horses in Hong Kong on Sunday at Sha Tin Racecourse.
First up, as race 7 on a 10-race card (first post 1 a.m. Eastern) is the Premier Bowl Handicap over 1200 meters. Race 8 is the Oriental Watch Handicap over 1600 meters. Both races are worth about $512,250. The going Sunday at Sha Tin is expected to be good.
Cracksman recorded his most impressive win to date with a seven-length victory in Saturday’s Group 1 Champion Stakes at Ascot Racecourse in England, giving trainer John Gosden a sweep of the two most prestigious races for older horses in Europe this month.
On Oct. 1, the Gosden-trained Enable, a 3-year-old filly, won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Chantilly Racecourse in France.
It was radically windy and wet Saturday at Ascot Racecourse, and the filly Persuasive was in her element.
Under testing conditions, Persuasive ran over the favored Ribchester to win the Group 1, $1.32 million Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. Ribchester, who drifted right through the final furlong, was beaten one length while a half-length better than third-place Churchill, who bounced back into form following a dud in the Irish Champion Stakes.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Al Ain, the winner of the Grade 1 Japanese 2000 Guineas in April, will be favored to win Sunday’s Grade 1 Japanese St. Leger at 1 7/8 miles on turf at Kyoto Racecourse against 17 rivals.
In his first start after a summer break, Al Ain was second by a neck to Mikki Swallow in the Grade 2 Asahi Hai St. Lite Kinen at Nakayama Racecourse on Sept. 18.
Al Ain, a winner of four of seven starts, will be ridden by Christophe Lemaire from post 16.
Ribchester was beaten a half-length by the excellent filly Minding a year ago in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, but on Saturday he is the one to beat in the last major mile race of the European season.
Ribchester is one of 15 runners in the QE II, a straight-course mile worth $1.3 million that’s co-featured on British Champions Day at Ascot.
