3 minute read

Selections and analysis for Saturday's race meeting at Sha Tin (26/12/20).

Race 1: #1 Above, #3 Brave King, #2 Stimulation, #5 Full Power
Race 2: #12 Flying Monkey, #10 Kwai Chung Elite, #5 Galaxy Emperor, #2 Destine Jewellery
Race 3: #2 Destin, #7 Spicy Grill, #10 Green Envy, #1 City Legend
Race 4: #4 Free Foal, #7 Lucky Fun, #11 Breeze Of Spring, #14 Fire Ball
Race 5: #9 Pure Legend, #3 Clear Choice, #7 Turin Redstar, #5 God OF Dragon
Race 6: #2 Unite Spirit, #11 Double Take, #12 Shanghai Grace, #3 Hero Time
Race 7: #10 Robot Warrior, #6 Cheerful Days, #7 Casimiro, #4 Leading Fortune
Race 8: #4 Enjoying, #3 Reliable Team, #2 Butterfield, #8 Thinkin' Big
Race 9: #1 Elusive State, #11 Holy Heart, #5 Glorious Artist, #2 Red Desert
Race 10: #1 Wellington, #5 Metro Warrior, #4 Valiant Dream, #2 Ping Hai Bravo 
Race 11: #9 Ka Ying Excellent, #13 Kasi Farasi, #5 Amazing News, #8 Happy Qiji  

Race 1: Tai Tan Handicap 

#1 Above is a two-time course and distance winner who should relish the step back to 2000m. Joao Moreira hops up and he has won off near this mark before. #3 Brave King is better than his record suggests. He's logged a few solid performances and is capable of reversing his form with a switch back to the turf here. #2 Stimulation is able and willing but tends to mix his form, still he rates strongly with Christophe Soumillon taking the reins. #5 Full Power is looking for back-to-back wins. He draws well and is expected to get every chance close to the speed. 

Race 2: Wong Shek Handicap 

#12 Flying Monkey has been consistent all term without a win. He is getting close though and does rate as a leading chance with next to no weight on his back stepping up to 1200m. #10 Kwai Chung Elite narrowly missed last start. He's due a win and has reached a mark he should be able score off. #5 Galaxy Emperor is looking to go one better after finishing a close-up second last time out. He draws well and gets his chance. #2 Destine Jewellery rarely runs a bad race and is worth including.  

Race 3: Wong Yi Chau Handicap 

#2 Destin only needs to offset the awkward draw to be factor in this contest. He's a two-time course and distance who relished racing in this grade last time out. #7 Spicy Grill rattled into third last time out from well back in the field. He's open to further improvement and remains a winning chance with that first-up effort under his belt. #10 Green Envy draws well and gets the services of Joao Moreira. He bears close watching. #1 City Legend is first-up but does bear close watching as he steps down to the bottom grade. He races well fresh and is worth supporting if he is value. 

Race 4: Pak Tam Handicap 

Tricky contest with several first starters but #4 Free Foal has caught the eye at the trials. He's shown plenty of early ability it wouldn't surprise to see him put his best foot forward on debut. #7 Lucky Fun has done similar. He draws well, gets Purton up and also rates as a leading player. #11 Breeze Of Spring is consistent. He has a race experience on his side. #14 Fire Ball has ability, more than his recent record suggests and he bears close watching. 

Race 5: Pak Tam Au Handicap 

#9 Pure Legend proved he handled the dirt with an impressive trial success at Conghua and now, readies for his first race on the surface. He's worth taking a chance on. #3 Clear Choice draws poorly but is a proven customer on the surface. He's in-form and gets Zac Purton up for this. #7 Turin Redstar surprised at 59/1 last time out. He's worth including off that performance, especially as a Class 2 winner previously currently competing in Class 3. #5 God Of Dragon is solid and worth including. 

Race 6: Tai Long Tsui Handicap 

David Ferraris and Christophe Soumillon combined on Wednesday night at Happy Valley and it wouldn't surprise to see the pair team up again with #2 Unite Spirit. He draws well and should relish the step down to 1650m here. #11 Double Take is a course and distance winner previously. He's gone close in both of  his last two outings and just needs to offset the awkward draw to be factor here. #12 Shanghai Grace steps onto the dirt for the first time this season. he was a three-time winner on the Polytrack in Great Britain, so he clearly handles the surface and the booking of Zac Purton commands respect. #3 Hero Time is next best. 

Race 7: Tai Long Au Handicap 

#10 Robot Warrior rattled into third last time out. He'll relish the added furlong on offer and it wouldn't surprise to see him breakthrough. #6 Cheerful Days clearly has ability but he's had a bad run of wide barriers and torrid runs in transit. Again he draws poorly but with an ounce of luck he can put his best foot forward and showcase his best. #7 Casimiro gets a handy seven pounds taken off thanks to Jerry Chau's apprentice claim. He's holding his condition well won't be too far away. #4 Leading Fortune is looking to snap two consecutive runner-up efforts. Gate 14 of 14 makes his task a difficult one. 

Race 8: Cheung Sheung Handicap 

#4 Enjoying is a dual Australian G2 winner who has taken his time to find his feet in Hong Kong. He closed for a personal best runner-up last time out and off that run, he rates as a leading player in this contest. #3 Reliable Team is as solid as they come and he rarely runs a bad race. He draws well and gets his chance. #2 Butterfield is racing well and appears ready for the step up to 2000m based on his most recent effort. #8 Thinkin' Big is another who has taken his time to settle in Hong Kong. He was a G1 placegetter in Australia and his last run indicated that he is now, beginning to put his best foot forward. 

Race 9: Chek Keng Handicap 

#1 Elusive State is a different horse on the dirt and he couldn't have trialled more impressively leading into this contest. He's a big chance as long as he can shoulder top weight. #11 Holy Heart is looking for his third consecutive win. He's a Polytrack winner in Great Britain prior to export and his recent form suggests that he will find himself in the thick of things here. #5 Glorious Artist returns to a happy hunting ground, although, he did win on the turf at 68/1 last time out. #2 Red Desert is nothing but consistent. The wide gate makes his task difficult but he's a chance as a two-time winner on the dirt.  

Race 10: Long Ke Handicap 

#1 Wellington won three consecutive starts last term before fading to sixth at his latest. He returned with soundness issues that day but with two strong trials under his belt leading into Saturday, those issues do appear behind him. #5 Metro Warrior won well three starts ago. He's mixed his form of late but a return to form would not surprise over his preferred course and distance. #4 Valiant Dream rocketed into second last time out over this course and distance. He can go one better here. #2 Ping Hai Bravo is looking for his third consecutive win. He's constantly overlooked but his last two wins have been nothing short of impressive, though it isn't easy to string three together, especially in Hong Kong.   

Race 11: Luk Wu Handicap 

#9 Ka Ying Excellent sat on the speed and kicked clear for a tidy one-length victory last time out. Suspect he can do similar here in a race that appears devoid of early speed. #13 Kasi Farasi won well last start but steps up to Class 3 now. The rise in grade and awkward draw hurts but he won with some authority last time out to suggest that he could do it again. #5 Amazing News caught the eye on debut with a fast-finishing third.  He has ability and with improvement can figure. #8 Happy Qiji soared into third last start. He'll need a race run to suit but is capable of finishing inside the money.