Camille Pissarro rode the rail around the turn and burst through an inside gap with 250 yards left to race, and went on to win the Prix du Jockey Club by a half-length over Cualificar on Sunday at Chantilly.
By Leo Schlink
Thriving in the absence of Ka Ying Rising, Helios Express was rewarded for a season of remarkable consistency with deserved victory in the HK$4.2 million G3 Sha Tin Vase Handicap (1200m) as John Size edged closer to a 13th Hong Kong trainers’ championship at Sha Tin on Saturday (31 May).
Runner-up five times and third on two other occasions to Ka Ying Rising in seven starts this campaign, Helios Express (123lb) scrambled to a short-head margin over Invincible Sage (115lb) with Patch Of Theta (115lb) one and three-quarter lengths away in third.
By Declan Schuster
Cody Mo celebrated a breakthrough at Sha Tin today (Saturday, 31 May) as lightweight chance Pray For Mir (115lb) gave the trainer his first Group race win with success in the HK$4.2 million G3 Lion Rock Trophy Handicap (1600m) under Matthew Chadwick.
Mo, 47, is a rising star among the training ranks. Following his 20-win first campaign (2023/24), the handler has excelled in 2024/25 with 38 victories including today’s and, currently boasts a 68-strong stable mixed with fresh talent and seasoned gallopers.
Museum Mile, Croix du Nord, and Masquerade Ball were the first three finishers of the Grade 1 Japanese 2000 Guineas in April, and will have a rematch in Sunday’s Grade 1 Japanese Derby at Tokyo Racecourse.
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While they each stand an excellent chance to win the $4.32 million Japanese Derby at 1 1/2 miles, there is another respected contender in the rich race in the undefeated Fandom.
The last horse to come out of the Poule d’Essai des Poulains and win the Prix du Jockey Club was the Aidan O’Brien-trained St Mark’s Basilica in 2021, O’Brien’s lone victory in the French Derby. But the O’Brien-trained Camille Pissarro, who last raced in the one-mile Poulains and rates among the favorites Sunday for the 1 5/16-mile Prix du Jockey Club is no St Mark’s Basilica.
By Leo Schlink
Chasing a feature race double for John Size at Sha Tin on Saturday (31 May), Hugh Bowman is optimistic Red Lion can prove an upset G1 FWD Champions Mile (1600m) victory over Voyage Bubble was no fluke when he tackles the HK$4.2 million G3 Lion Rock Trophy Handicap (1600m).
Red Lion famously edged out Voyage Bubble in the FWD Champions Mile at Sha Tin last month, scoring by a short head at odds of 89/1 in a result which shocked many – but not Bowman.
By Declan Schuster
The HK$4.2 million G3 Sha Tin Vase Handicap (1200m) will be the first Group race run over the distance this season without the brilliant Ka Ying Rising lining up, leaving several of his regular adversaries, including Frankie Lor’s Lucky With You, eager to capitalise on a rare opportunity in his absence on Saturday afternoon (31 May) at Sha Tin.
Gran Oriente, a 3-year-old Chilean-bred colt, won a Group 1 race at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Club Hipico de Santiago in Chile on Sunday to earn a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar on Nov. 1.
