In the hours before Saturday’s Group 1 Irish Oaks at the Curragh in Ireland, the fixed odds on the British shipper You Got To Me fell steadily with European bookmakers.

She went from 20-1 to a final price of 15-2. The gamble was successful.

You Got To Me, who paid $20.40 in American pools, closed from the middle of the field of 14 to reach the front in the final sixteenth, avoiding the trouble that plagued second-place finisher Content.

At the age of 5, the New Zealand-bred gelding War Eternal is blooming.

In the last 45 days, War Eternal has won two of his last three starts in Australia, leading to his first appearance in a stakes since October 2022 in the $134,000 Winter Challenge Stakes at Rosehill Gardens in Sydney on Friday evening.

War Eternal was the 2-1 favorite in early betting on Thursday in a field of 12, followed by King of the Castle (3-1) and Tamerlane (7-2).

She may only be the winner of a maiden race, but Lope de Lilas won in such an appealing manner in May that she is rated among the contenders for Saturday’s Group 1 Irish Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/2 miles at the Curragh in Ireland.

Lope de Lilas has a trainer well known for success in preparing inexperienced horses for major stakes. Willie Mullins, the world’s leading jump racing trainer, has frequently had a presence in leading flat races around the world in recent years, including the Melbourne Cup and occasional runners in staying races in the United States.

Mill Stream posted an 11-1 upset Saturday in the Group 1 July Cup at Newmarket, a day after Porta Fortuna came home an odds-on winner there in the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes.

By Leo Schlink

Bidding to win the Hong Kong trainers’ championship in only his second season, Pierre Ng is pinning his hopes on four key runners as the young horseman braces for Francis Lui’s last-ditch challenge at Sunday’s (14 July) season finale at Sha Tin.

Clinging to a 67-66 lead over Lui after 87 meetings, Ng will field nine runners in seven races, while Lui will saddle 10 runners in nine races. Neither trainer has previously won the championship.

Paul Lally: 
R1 5-13-7-9 
R2 5-6-1-7 
R3 1-7-10-3 
R4 4-9-3-10 
R5 1-4-7-11 
R6 11-2-7-12 
R7 2-4-5-1 
R8 4-1-10-7 
R9 12-11-3-5 
R10 12-6-3-7 
R11 1-2-8-9 
Best Bet R11 N1 Patch Of Theta 
Longshot R10 N12 Smart City 
Play R5 QQP 1-4-7 

SHA TIN SELECTIONS
(Sunday, July 14, 2024) 

Nine starts, five wins, three seconds, and one third-place finish into her career, the multiple Group 1-winning filly Porta Fortuna finally should go favored when she faces six rivals Friday at Newmarket in the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes.

Paul Lally:

R1 1-12-8-6
R2 7-3-12-1
R3 11-6-7-1
R4 4-5-10-12
R5 5-9-2-10
R6 9-6-5-1
R7 3-4-9-2
R8 3-8-7-1
R9 3-1-2-7

Best Bet R5 N5 Camino
Longshot R6 N9 Woodfire Bro
Play R9 QQP 1-2-3

Mark McNamara:

R1: 8.1.6.2
R2: 10.7.3.9
R3: 11.3.6.7
R4: 4.12.3.8
R5: 5.2.9.1
R6: 5.6.9.1
R7: 3.4.8.2
R8: 8.3.7.10
R9: 3.5.1.2