There may well be some light at the end of the tunnel at last as racing appears to be preparing for a return to action in the next few weeks, presumably with the backing of the government, which at least gives us all something to look forward to – even if it is behind closed doors and with maximum fields of twelve (apparently). France look likely to go ahead before then with May 11th pencilled in for their resumption (Germany May 4th), but as I apparently know a lot less that the keyboard warriors on social media, I will sit back and let the experts in the medical professions decide when things are safe.
Fitness will be the big question when we do finally resume with the great betting public blissfully ignorant of exactly how much fine tuning has or has not been going on behind closed doors, and I am wary that leaves the markets open to possible abuse, and it will also be interesting to see if we switch to something akin to other jurisdictions where we race in zone one (say Newmarket for example) before moving the whole circus on to say Doncaster or York, with jockeys, handlers, blacksmiths etc all expected to live on site each time?
With trainers, jockeys, bookmakers, and an entire racing industry chomping at the bit to get back to work I need to keep my brain ticking over a little if nothing else, and despite sulking because I should have been enjoying the hospitality of Hong Kong this weekend, I owe it to them and you to cover Sunday’s top class card that includes three Group Ones as well as an interesting supporting card. With nothing I like the look of in Australia on Saturday morning we call all have a lie-in one day out of the two (I’m told it is called the weekend but it is getting harder to tell what day it is to be honest), we can focus our attention on Sha Tin and the best that Hong Kong has to offer despite the lack of International competition, which a real shame but something we will all learn to live with.
I won’t be touching the back-up races though I fully expect a few winners from title protagonists Zac Purton and Joao Moreira as they go toe to toe looking for an unassailable advantage, though I will be cheering on the likes of Well Dragon in the opener as a son of Frankel and this with the slightest of connections to our shores!
On to the big races and we start at 7.50am with the Chairman’s Sprint Prise, to be raced over six furlongs and with a fascinating field from top to bottom. Carrying the number one will be the wonderfully named and ultra-consistent Hot King Prawn, a top three finisher in his last six starts, and the winner of ten races and well over £2,000,000 of prize money. Second her to Voyage Warrior in the Sprint Cup at the beginning of the month, he had plenty of this field behind him that day but still has to turn things around with the winner, yet he trades at a quarter of his price. The assumption must be that they will not give the winner that much freedom in front this time around, but they may not have a choice and I cannot suggest him at that price other than in any placepot perms. As you may have noticed I am not a great one for perfect grammar and in Aethero we have to work out what tense we use. Either he IS the up and coming sprinter that everyone has to beat, or he WAS the same – perhaps we will know the answer to that question by the end of this race? He was beaten by Beat The Clock and Hot King Prawn over course and distance in December and pulled far too hard on his first race since when an eased off last to Voyage Warrior, so do we or don’t we keep the faith? Realists will point out he is worse off at the weights today as well, but dreamers like me keep on hoping we have a new champion on our hands (and we do it year after year), and he will be carrying my money, though to much smaller stakes in a race that could pan out in any one of a million connotations.
Our next Group One is over the mile when Beauty Generation looks to make it three in a row here and in so doing, surpass the £10,000,000 in career earnings, joining a pretty select few in the process. He is a horse I love dearly, and I really want him to win, but odds on looks a bit silly to me as he gets older, and with both Ka Ying Star and Southern Legend entitled to give him a race on recent form. He did look to me as if he would win a lot more comfortably than the final margin last time out, but then again, he looked a picture during his work earlier this week and how can I even consider opposing him now.
One race to go and as most years, for me the QEII Cup is always a tough one to call. Raced over the mile and a quarter, the seven runner field is a bit of a disappointment, but we still look all set for as treat and a battle royal between the two Tony Cruz runners, Exultant and Time Warp, and why not Furore for third to fill all the places for the one stable? Better still the two market principles see Zac Purton up against Joao Moreira to add a bit of extra spice, while Neil Callan rides Eagle Way who was good enough to compete effectively t this level back in 2018 but hasn’t won a race since – can John Moore get him back to that level with our own Neil Callan in the saddle?
Sean’s Suggestions:
Aethero 7.50am Sha Tin Sunday
Beauty Generation 9.00am Sha Tin Sunday
Exultant 9.40am Sha Tin Sunday
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