By Daryl Timms
Top Australian jockey Blake Shinn flies back into Hong Kong on the eve of the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) for important rides at Sha Tin in two of the four Group 1 features on Sunday, 8 December.
He is on a mission to give a visiting Australian horse its first victory at Hong Kong’s biggest meeting of the year since Falvelon’s success in the 2001 Hong Kong Sprint (1000m).
R1 1-4-8-5
R2 1-7-9-12
R3 8-10-2-9
R4 1-6-7-9
R5 5-4-2-8
R6 5-1-3-9
R7 9-10-1-11
R8 4-6-7-1
R9 1-7-4-8
Best Bet R5 N5 Fatal Blow
Longshot R9 N1 California Voce
Play R8 QQP 4-6-7
Nick Child:
R1 | 2-1-5-11
R2 | 6-1-2-4
R3 | 10-8-6-2
R4 | 1-7-9-3
R5 | 5-4-11-8
R6 | 8-1-5-2
R7 | 4-1-10-2
R8 | 4-2-6-7 (Q/QP 2-4-6)
R9 | 7-8-4-5 (F/C 7-8)
Since his short-term contract commenced on 17 November, McDonald has won a pair of Group 2 races – atop Voyage Bubble and Romantic Warrior – and partnered three straight doubles to total six wins from 24 rides for a stunning 25%-win strike rate.
British trainer Ralph Beckett admits local star Ka Ying Rising looks an “absolute monster” but is relishing the chance to take him on in the HK$26 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) with sensational G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (1000m) winner Starlust.
Beckett is familiar with the city’s racing landscape, having trained for some of its most prominent owners, while Muhannak and Chemical Charge represented him ably in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m) in 2008 and 2017.
By Scott Burton
There may be other jockeys who arrive at Happy Valley on 4 December for the HK$1 million LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) with more fanfare, or on the back of recent big race successes.
Do Deuce, closing from last, reminded viewers why he has been one of Japan’s prominent males in the last three years in Sunday’s Grade 1 Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse.
Ridden confidently by 55-year-old Yutaka Take, Do Deuce was at the back of the field for the first mile of the $7.01 million races at 1 1/2 miles. Take moved Do Deuce wide on the turn, and steadily moved toward the front, taking the lead with about a furlong remaining.
Natural Rise remained unbeaten after two starts with a smart win in Saturday’s $199,600 Cattleya Stakes at a mile on dirt for 2-year-olds at Tokyo Racecourse in Japan.
The Cattleya Stakes is the first of four qualifying races in Japan for the 2025 Kentucky Derby. Natural Rise received 10 qualifying points. The series continues in December and additional races are run in February and March.
