Masquerade Ball rallied between rivals in early stretch to win Sunday’s autumn running of the Grade 1 Tenno Sho at Tokyo Racecourse in Japan. It was the 3-year-old colt’s first victory in a race at the highest level and his debut against older horses.

The win may lead to a start in a Grade 1 race in Japan in coming weeks and months, with the $7.07 million Japan Cup at 1 1/2 miles at Tokyo on Nov. 30, or the $7.07 million Arima Kinen at 1 9/16 miles at Nakayama on Dec. 28 as options.

Sunday’s Tenno Sho was run at 1 1/4 miles.

By Paul Ryding

David Eustace will turn to one of his yard’s emerging talents as he bids to build momentum and snap a frustrating spell when Hong Kong racing shifts to Happy Valley’s rare weekend meeting on Sunday (2 November).

Stuck on one win through 15 meetings of the 2025/26 campaign, Eustace, who picked up 36 winners during an excellent debut season in Hong Kong, has been left frustrated by a run of narrow defeats this term.

Paul Lally: 
R1: 2-1-4-6 
R2: 2-1-5-4 
R3: 8-7-12-2 
R4: 4-1-11-8 
R5: 1-5-8-4 
R6: 11-6-10-3 
R7: 10-3-6-1 
R8: 1-8-9-10 
R9: 3-5-8-7 
R10: 6-3-11-4 
Best Bet: R9 N3 Colourful King 
Longshot: R8 N1 Brave Star 
Play: Race10 QQP 3-6-11 

Happy Valley Selections
(Sunday, November 02, 2025)

Masquerade Ball, Meisho Tabaru, and Tastiera are the comeback boys in Sunday’s Grade 1 autumn running of the Tenno Sho at 1 1/4 miles at Tokyo Racecourse in Japan.

Masquerade Ball has not raced since a second-place finish by three-quarters of a length in the Grade 1 Japanese Derby at 1 1/2 miles at Tokyo on June 1.

Meisho Tabaru, a 4-year-old colt, won the Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen at 1 3/8 miles at Hanshin Racecourse on June 15 in his latest appearance. He is expected to take his customary position at the front.

By Leo Schlink

Mark Newnham’s stellar season continued to gather momentum when the Australian horseman notched a double at Sha Tin’s all-dirt meeting on Thursday night (30 October) to extend his lead in the 2025/26 trainers’ championship.

The first trainer to reach the 20-victory mark this season with the successes of New Forest and Notthesillyone, Newnham increased the buffer over Caspar Fownes (14) to six after 15 meetings with David Hayes (13) and Danny Shum (11) next.

The remarkable aspect surrounding the early career of the Australian filly Autumn Glow is trainer Chris Waller’s assessment of her undefeated record after seven starts.

“We don’t know good she is yet,” Waller recently told the Australian press.

Paul Lally: 
R1 2-3-5-4 
R2 12-6-3-2 
R3 2-11-1-3 
R4 1-3-9-13 
R5 9-10-3-11 
R6 1-8-14-2 
R7 11-7-1-2 
R8 5-4-1-6 
Best Bet R4 N1 Reliable Profit
Longshot R3 N2 New power 
Play Race7 QQP 1-7-11 

Tom Wood:
R1: 3-13-2-4 
R2: 8-4-3-12 
R3: 3-4-10-8 
R4: 12-1-3-13 
R5: 3-11-1-6 
R6: 2-1-4-6 
R7: 1-4-6-7 
R8: 6-5-1-4 
Best Bet: R5 N3 VULCANUS (WIN)
VALUE: R8 N6 YOUNG ACHIEVER (EW)
PLAY: R8 QQP 1,5,6 

By Declan Schuster

Mark Newnham is sailing through the 2025/26 Hong Kong racing season with flying colours and the Australian trainer, who has 12 wins in October, takes a five-strong team to Thursday night’s (30 October) eight-race all-dirt programme at Sha Tin. 

Leading the trainers’ championship with 18 wins – four clear of nearest rival Caspar Fownes (14) – Newnham heads into Thursday’s fixture aiming to extend his streak to 13 consecutive race meetings with at least a winner.