by Leo Schlink

Preparing to bid for an extraordinary 11th HK$13 million G1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2400m) triumph at Sha Tin on Sunday (25 May), Tony Cruz laid down a positive marker for this weekend’s staying test with California Moxie’s success at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (21 May).

A perennial force in the Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup, Cruz will saddle Five G Patch – who was runner-up in the feature last season to Rebel’s Romance – La City Blanche and Winning Dragon.

Bidding to record a 1,600th training win in Hong Kong, Australian Racing Hall of Fame inductee John Size saddles an imposing team of nine runners spread evenly across tomorrow night’s (Wednesday, 21 May) nine-race fixture at Happy Valley.

Happy Valley Selections
(Wednesday, May 21, 2025)

Race 1: #4 Endued, #7 New Power, #1 Jumbo Treasure, #10 Shotgun
Race 2: #5 U S S Constitution, #7 Verbier, #4 Windicator Family, #12 Medic Elite
Race 3: #8 Soaring Bronco, #1 Thesis, #2 Written Casa, #11 California Moxie
Race 4: #2 Mighty Commander, #7 Dragon Star, #10 Jumbo Fortune, #4 Stormi
Race 5: #6 Lean Master, #4 Plentiful, #12 Day Day Victory, #7 La Momento
Race 6: #11 Draco, #7 Nebraskan, #6 Loving Vibes, #2 Super Sixty

Ascoli Piceno needed every stride through the stretch to reach the front in Sunday’s Grade 1 Victoria Mile for fillies and mares at Tokyo Racecourse, eventually winning by a neck over an unlucky Queen’s Walk.

The win may help Ascoli Piceno toward a second career championship. The Japanese champion 2-year-old filly of 2023, Ascoli Piceno’s status in Japan’s turf mile division was greatly enhanced by her win in the $1.73 million Victoria Mile. The outcome of the Grade 1 Mile Championship at Kyoto in November will play a key role in the divisional honors.

by Leo Schlink

A David Hayes treble at Sha Tin on Sunday (18 May) has breathed fresh life into the 2024/25 Hong Kong trainers’ championship, as the Australian moved to within six wins of compatriot and 12-time champion John Size with 16 meetings left in the season.

Hayes dominated with the performances of Oriental Smoke, Solid Shalaa and World Hero to reach 50 wins for the campaign, raising hopes of a third Hong Kong trainers’ championship having earlier trailed Size by 11 wins this season.

Last of eight, beaten 13 lengths by victorious Dancing Gemini in the Bet365 Mile last month at Sandown Park, Lead Artist finished first, a neck in front of favored Dancing Gemini, in the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes on Saturday at Newbury Racecourse in England.

Ascoli Piceno, the Japanese champion 2-year-old filly of 2023 and favorite for Sunday’s Grade 1 Victoria Mile for fillies and mares at Tokyo Racecourse, has had a diverse international campaign on two continents since last fall.

Last November, Ascoli Piceno finished worse than second for the first time in her seventh start. She finished 12th in a field of 20 in the $6.57 million Golden Eagle Stakes for 4-year-olds at 7 1/2 furlongs at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney, Australia. Ascoli Piceno was beaten 4 1/4 lengths after a wide trip.

By Leo Schlink

Bearing down on 100 wins in Hong Kong, Andrea Atzeni has clinched the HK$13 million G1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2400m) ride on 25 May on G3 Queen Mother Memorial Cup Handicap (2400m) winner Bundle Award.

Atzeni will chase his first Hong Kong Group 1 trophy on Bundle Award, who became the first runner from this season’s BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) to win a Group 3 with success in the Queen Mother Memorial Cup at Sha Tin on 4 May under Zac Purton.

Paul Lally: 
R1 9-6-12-1 
R2 3-9-5-7 
R3 1-7-6-10 
R4 2-5-4-1 
R5 8-1-12-2 
R6 3-8-7-9 
R7 10-1-7-9 
R8 5-2-1-12 
R9 4-5-8-10 
R10 1-11-14-7 
Best Bet R9 N4 Pakistan Legacy 
Longshot R5 N8 Thunder Blink 
Play R10 1-11-14 

Sha Tin Selections 
(Sunday, May 18, 2025)