HAPPY VALLEY SELECTIONS
(Wednesday, September 20, 2017)
Brett Davis
Race 1: 8-12-3-5
Race 2: 9-4-2-8
Race 3: 4-3-8-11
Race 4: 1-8-3-10
Race 5: 1-2-12-4
Race 6: 7-6-9-1
Race 7: 9-1-7-4
Race 8: 8-2-4-1
Best Bet - Race 5: #1 Smart Boy
Longshot - Race 3: #11 My Folks
Best Play - Race 4: Q/QP 1,3,8
The 6-year-old gelding Convincible is on a three-race winning streak since late May. Wednesday, Convincible starts for the second time in the new Hong Kong season in the $237,961 Cha Kwo Ling Handicap at six furlongs on turf at Happy Valley Racecourse.
Conditions should work in favor of Convincible. The three recent wins have all been at six furlongs on turf at Happy Valley. In each race, Convincible has been favored.
HAPPY VALLEY SELECTIONS
(Wednesday, September 20, 2017)
RACE 1: #12 Great Toplight, #8 Sight Seeing, #5 Triumphal Trumpet, #4 Goal For Gold
RACE 2: #2 Kyrus Bowser, #8 Go Go Win, #9 Ho Ho Feel, #4 Sharp Sailor
RACE 3: #3 Sweet Bean, #6 High Speed Metro, #5 Best Jade Triumph, #4 Fun Manager
RACE 4: #7 Smart Union, #10 Curling Luxury, #3 Balay Balay, #5 Meisterstueck
This time, there was less drama.
Winx, the reigning Australian Horse of the Year, won her 20th consecutive race in Saturday’s Group 1 Colgate Optic White Stakes at a mile on turf at Royal Randwick Racecourse outside of Sydney.
Unlike her win in the Group 2 Warwick Stakes on Aug. 19, when she missed the break and rallied to win by a head, or her win in the Group 2 Chelmsford Stakes on Sept. 2, when she caught runaway leader Red Excitement in the final 50 yards, Winx had a more conventional trip in the $399,000 race, which is more commonly known as the George Main Stakes.
Capri gave trainer Aidan O’Brien his 18th Group 1 win of 2017 in Saturday’s $939,730 St Leger Stakes at Doncaster Racecourse, the final classic race for 3-year-olds in England this year.
Capri, the 3-1 favorite, gave O’Brien a fifth career win in the St Leger Stakes. It was the first win in the race for jockey Ryan Moore.
SHA TIN SELECTIONS
(SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16)
Brett Davis
Race 1: 2-1-9-6
Race 2: 5-4-7-8
Race 3: 4-2-5-8
Race 4: 3-4-2-7
Race 5: 6-5-3-1
Race 6: 6-11-1-7
Race 7: 13-3-7-2
Race 8: 1-4-2-11
Race 9: 11-7-6-4
Race 10: 14-1-3-10
Best Bet - Race 6: #6 Diamond Mysterious
2nd Best Bet - Race 2: #5 Beekely
Longshot - Race 5: #1 Play It
Best Play - Q/QP 6,7,11
Paul Lally
Race 1: 1-7-9-2
The Group 1 St Leger Stakes at Doncaster Racecourse on Saturday, the final classic race for 3-year-olds in England this year, was a race without a clear favorite as of Thursday morning.
In a field of 11, there were several colts and fillies who could claim the role of favorite before post time at 10:35 a.m. Eastern.
Capri won the Group 1 Irish Derby in his last start on July 1. Crystal Ocean won the Group 3 Gordon Stakes at Goodwood on Aug. 5 and seems to have improved as the season progressed.
SHA TIN SELECTIONS
(Saturday, September 16, 2017)
RACE 1: #7 Indigenous Star, #1 Mordicus, #2 None Other, #10 Rewarding Flyer
RACE 2: #5 Beekely, #7 Peace Combination, #4 Fish N' Chips, #1 Look Eras
RACE 3: #4 Rhode Assassin, #7 Diamond Friends, #10 Dragon Bachelor, #5 Amritsaria
RACE 4: #4 Foxbat, #3 Good Method, #2 Ambitious Speedy, #12 Laughing Lord
RACE 5: #5 Gran Master, #7 Good Fit, #9 Five Stars Agent, #1 Play It
Winx, the reigning Australian Horse of the Year, was the 1-10 favorite in future-book betting Wednesday to win her 20th consecutive start in Saturday’s Group 1 Colgate Optic White Stakes at Royal Randwick Racecourse outside of Sydney.
Her biggest threat in the one-mile turf race is likely to come from stablemates also trained by Chris Waller, notably Foxplay.
Winx has won 23 of 29 starts in her career. In her two wins since a break through the Australian winter, Winx has tested the patience of her backers with dramatic rallies.
Packing Dragon improved monumentally during the 2016-17 Hong Kong racing season, but will he begin a new campaign where he left off?
That question will be answered Wednesday night at Happy Valley, where Packing Dragon faces 11 foes in the $238,100 Washington D.C. Handicap. The race is contested at 1,650 meters (just over one mile) and is open to horses rated 80-100.
