Hong Kong Racing returned to Happy Valley from Ed at 6:40am on Wednesday morning. Free PPS Available at Horse Racing Country. For more free handicap information, see: Hong Kong Jockey Club Website.
Race 1:4 Sky Prophet, 5 Ever Smart, 8 Gallant Goody, 6 Joyful Life
Race 2:6 Ragnarr, 4 Campfire, 9 Very Great, 7 Hosts
Race 3: 1 Beauty Viva, 10 Hackladians, 8 Perfect Pairings, 7 Admins
Race 4:6 Island Buddy, 5 Thunder Prince, 9 rewarding glitter, 3 sweet brilliant briers
Race 5:1 Prestige Good, 5 views best, 11 Jumbo Fortune, 12 Super Sicario
Race 6:3 Tactical Command, 2 Young Arrow, 10 Telecom Power, 1 deep and deep in California
Race 7:6 Lucky Touch, 3 Hameron, 5 Flying Fortress, 7 Samarkand
Race 8:3 Sky Vino, 6 Swagger Bro, 8 Icon, 4 Satire Fans
Lace 9:11 See this, 3 spicy gold, 8 woocon jewelry, 10 gokowin
Race 1, Dordogne Handicap
No. 4 Sky Prophet was suitable for the extended miles to the final start and made some excuses in the run, but his efforts over this distance when a two-second close-up was well read under Hugh Bowman. He reunites with Bowman here and appears to bounce back. The No. 5 Ever Smart has been framed for its first victory since the downgrade, making it four of seven starts in this grade and is once again shaped as a candidate in the expected soft run. No. 8 Gallant Goody will resume its second start after joining David Hall Yard and Post 1. He can show more. No. 6 Joyful Life is another longtime maiden, but he draws well at Gate 2 and is able to improve his recent form with a more advantageous run in transit. It is worth considering for minors.
Race 2, Dordogne Handicap, div 2
No. 6 Ragnarr backed up to six furlongs after running two good runs on five furlongs. No. 4 Camp Fire was the third attempt in Class 5 and was successfully tested between runs. He appears ready to improve his first fifth time of encouragement. No. 9 races on long trips in a solid form so you won’t have any issues going back far. From a low draw, he can map forward and enter with a real shot. No. 7 Hoss is close to winning this grade, but his negative racing patterns and another broad postwork against him. Look for him to recharge again late.
Race 3, Loire Handicap
No. 1 Beauty Viva looks ready to win after going for his third start in class 4 and writing on the second wall of Fast Finishing at the end. He passed the third mile mile point from the point of a mile and was endured until it was strongly closed. He’ll be hard to hold back on a more clear run. No. 10 Hakka Radiance remains at 20th stage in Hong Kong’s Maiden, but is approaching a breakthrough this season, recording five placements from 12 runs on this course and distance. The perfect pairing of No. 8 broke through the final start on this course and traveled with a strong victory following the last effort before. He is trending the right way and can be followed up. The people in No. 7 Management are two courses and distance winners and rarely run bad races here. He also made four appearances on his trip, starting with nine attempts. He remains a solid candidate for each candidate.
Race 4, Ciron Handicap
No. 6 Island Buddy is not drawn lower than Post 9 in his last five runs. His first attempt on this course and the final start of distance were encouraging and overwhelmed in the fourth second half of the post 12, only half a length beat. No. 5 Thunder Prince Maps scored a soft run from Gate 3 and with Hubowman on board he is on track with him in his current rating and can boost his Class 4 victory. No. 9’s rewarding Twinkle is an interesting runner who resumes a stable move to Frankie Lor. His recent trial has encouraged him, and changes in the yard may cause the necessary improvements from this lightly competing 3-year-old. Sweet Briar, the six-time winner of this class, is worth keeping his second attempt safe in Class 4. He fades to the final ninth start, but is not beaten much and can improve on a smooth trip.
Race 5, Sauternes Cup
No. 1 Prestige Good has maintained a consistent form since finding his way into Class 4, with three third-place finishes. What does he map out one of the races here and shape as a fiercely competitive contest? No. 5 Sight Supreme After Supreme resumed and drawing Gate 9 or below with a recent start, Post 1 is always appealing. He can use the inner alley to improve the statistics of the Happy Valley from quiet trials. Jumbo Fortune, the 11th Jumbo Fortune, a one-off winner of a local start of 56, took a 7-day fast turn after the previous no-luck eighth, checked in 8 miles and was once again disappointed by the room passing the final sixth century. No. 12 Super Sicario showed his final start when he was able to race at pace from a good draw for the first time in his six-start career. He declined from sixth place and beat two and a half lengths. At the age of three, he is still improving and can take another solid step here.
Race 6, Ciron Handicap, Div 2
No. 3 tactical command regained successive wins before being cancelled with wide draws on the latest two runs. Nevertheless, his efforts are still reliable given his position in running, and as he moves into a better draw here, he gives him the opportunity to return to a more advantageous map and return to the winning form. After 11 Hong Kong started, No. 2 Young Arrow continues to win, but with a consistent third place finish, rarely far from the finish. He now stops in Class 4 for the first time and is setting him well to be competitive. No. 10 communication power started for the 18 to finally break through, but he did well and the overall shape this season was consistently solid. A slightly tricky draw changes the speedmap scenario, but he remains a mix. No. 1 California went back deep into the final start of Class 4, producing a powerful closing fourth, beaten in two lengths.
Race 7, Line Handicap
The Lucky Touch on No. 6 found clear air after hitting traffic on the last straight out and charged second behind when it was too late. He got another chance here and itched after moving on to a third-year start in class 3. No. 3 Hameron has returned in good form despite most of his luck. The second start was he held back late and could not fully test. And last time he was forced very quickly before stabilizing through the field, but still closed late. No. 5 Flying Fortress recorded Hong Kong’s first victory two times before in a comfortable one-length victory over rocket spade, and after doing early work from 10 posts he has another strong chance when he beats his neck for the second time. No. 7 Samarkand maps to land at pace in races without early tempo. It’s been a while between victory, but his final third, over 1 1/8 miles, is an encouragement and he should be considered.
Race 8, Garonne Handy Cap
No. 3 Sky Vino finally draws the gate after three wide posts since the breakthrough won four times before. From post 4, he maps and gets one of the race runs given a profile of the pace and shows what to defeat. No. 6 Swagger Bro has been running well since dropping by Class 4. Now, an increase in travel may unleash further improvements to see him for money. The symbol of No. 8 is the influence of the prominent pace that led him all the way to win twice before, and has done too much work since the last post 12. He can now move to the middle bone and bounce back. The satirical fan of No. 4 has to easily find somewhere near the front from his inner gate, and after coming out second from his neck and recaptures form back to class 4, he breaks in for more than a year for his first victory.
Race 9, Seine Handicap
No. His trial since then has been encouraging, and from Post 2 he is well suited to conduct a significantly improved race, given the close-up finish before that accident. No. 3 Spicy Gold has already had an incredible season, with three wins and three seconds behind Happy Fat Cat, including runner-up effort. He appears to be prepared to map and get race run, one is better. No. 8 Wukong Jewellery finished mid-point in 7th place with his Hong Kong debut, four and a half lengths from Crimson Flash. He appears to be trying to take a lot of improvements from that run and show more second-ups. No. 10 Goko Win Draws Post 1 Again proved his final start, putting a big performance to score at the top of the class 4.
Luke Middlebrook is a contributor to Idol Horse. After catching the Hong Kong racing bug, Luke spent several years blogging about sports before moving to Singapore in 2016. There, he spent eight years as a resident expert at IRACE Media, all form-related and editorial content for horse racing in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Coverage throughout the thoroughbred season in Hong Kong Horse Racing Country This was made possible through sponsorship by the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
