Welcome to our horse racing preview and betting tips for racing at Happy Valley on Wednesday, May 13th.
Another nine-race card under lights tonight, with racing on the C-course at the city track.
Find our preview and betting tips for every race on the card below!
Happy Valley Racing Tips: Wednesday, May 13th
Best Bet: Race 9 - (6) Tangmere
Best Value: Race 1 - (6) Harbour Alert
An ordinary Class 5 to kick things off. (1) The Abraxas has had 22 starts in Hong Kong without a win and he's our $3.30 favourite and hard to beat, so that tells you what kind of race it is. He drops back into Class 5 tonight after two recent runs in Class 4. Both were at this track and distance and he ran 3rd and 4th, and prior to that he was beaten a shot-half-head in Class 5. So the drop in class looks ideal for him. Joao Moreira takes the ride tonight and so long as he can overcome barrier 10, he should be hard to beat. But it's hard to be confident. (6) Harbour Alert can be thrown in at huge odds. He's been running at Sha Tin for a while now and returns to Happy Valley for the first time since dropping into Class 5. He has five 2nd placings over this track and distance and he draws barrier 1 which gives him every chance to do so again. Vincent Ho jumps on (7) Supreme Plus who draws well in barrier 2, a crucial thing over this track and distance on the C-course. He comes to Happy Valley for the first time since dropping into Class 5 and should be around the mark.
No bet.
Three here that catch the eye. (8) Fox Cheunger goes on top. He's been racing well without much luck and if things go his way, he'll be hard to hold out. He ran consecutive 3rd placings before he just struck trouble in the straight last time out at this track and distance. He was hampered at the 400m mark and then had to check off heels at the 200m, before finishing off strongly to be beaten 2.5L in 5th. He ran the fastest final 400m of the race and was the only horse to break 23 seconds. He draws barrier 6 here and I'd love to see him settle further forward rather than having to run them down from too far back. (2) Aurora Steed draws barrier 1 which is a premium over the 1200m on the C-course and Moreira jumps back aboard for John Size, indicating the horse is probably ready to win. He was only fair last start but don't be shocked to see sharp improvement tonight. (5) Roman Odyssey is second up tonight and he's never missed a place from four previous attempts at this stage of his campaign. He draws much more positive tonight in barrier 3 and Vincent Ho replaces Matthew Chadwick, so there's a couple of big positives. He's a bit of value at $10.
Value: (5) Roman Odyssey $10
(3) Compassion Spirit was a good winner over track and distance last start and beat a promising type in Yee Cheong Pegasus. He gets a very different set up tonight with barrier 11 compared to barrier 3 last start, and he lugs 4.5kg more in the weights, but he can probably get away with winning again because it's a fairly low race. (2) Master Albert was a touch disappointing for mine last start but prior to that he was racing well and this is no harder, so he'll be running on hard from back in the field. (8) Thou Shall Sing has found form in his past two starts but both have been on the dirt so it's a query as to whether he can bring that to the city track on the grass tonight.
(3) Compassion Spirit
$2.70
Whereas barrier 1 over 1200m on the C-course is a big positive, it's actually not a great draw over the 1000m, with just one winner from 24 starters this season. But with that said, I've still got (4) Excellent Chariot on top for Ricky Yiu and Antoine Hamelin, who are both flying at the minute. He's trialled well leading into his debut tonight and Ricky Yiu has a great record with his runners over 1000m on the Happy Valley track, with seven winners from 27 runners this season. Provided he can land in a good spot, I think he'll take plenty of beating here. (2) We The South was a surprise winner first up but can be competitive again despite the rise in rating and weight. The draw in barrier 9 isn't a negative. (3) Winning Ways just finds trouble wherever he goes, which is probably why he's only won three of his 33 career starts. Moreira replaces Purton tonight but the horse has had enough chances with me.
(4) Excellent Chariot
$4.80
(11) Star Luck really gets his chance to win tonight. Apprentice Alfred Chan goes on to bring his weight down to 49.5kg and he draws barrier 1 which is gold over the 1200m here. He should ping the gates and find the lead, and with the light weight will prove very difficult to run down. He's been racing well at Sha Tin leading into this and the only query is the fact he's struggled in his other two runs at Happy Valley. He gets his chance tonight though. (3) Smart Leader had no luck at all last start, trapped three-wide without cover at Sha Tin. His run prior to that was good and Joao Moreira replaces Blake Shinn tonight. He's also drawn very well in barrier 2. Leaning to those two over the other favourite (9) Namjong Sings.
Very competitive race. (1) Victoriam was a winner two starts ago at Sha Tin before a tough run last start when caught wide the entire trip. He returns to Happy Valley tonight and Purton takes over the ride. From barrier 7, he should get a good run and he should prove hard to beat. I'll spew if (6) Hall Of Champ wins tonight as I've been on him in all of his recent starts and I've been crying out for a jockey change, which he gets tonight, but it's not necessarily the one I wanted. He also drops from 1600m back to 1200m which is a query. (7) Grade One draws barrier 1 which is a big positive for him and he ran the third-fastest final 400m in defeat last start, which came after a win in Class 4. The barrier makes him a live chance. (8) Shamport won two in a race and ran the fastest final 400m in defeat last start so he's tracking very well. He draws slightly awkwardly in barrier but with any sort of luck he'll be right in the finish. Tough race!
Pretty happy to take on (7) Above again tonight. I took him on last start as favourite and he's favourite again tonight so I will do so again. His 6L win a few starts back was very impressive but there were circumstances as to why it was such a big margin. (1) World Famous has his first start since finishing last in the HK Derby. He's been freshened up and has trialled twice between runs. Drops back to a Class 3 tonight and he won a similar race to this at Sha Tin back in February. He draws well and Vincent Ho and Ricky Yiu are a formidable combination. Happy to take $5.50. (8) Blastoise won two starts back and then ran 2nd last time out. He actually beat World Famous by 0.8L two starts back but he meets him worse at the weights here and interestingly, Purton jumps off tonight. Purton was actually meant to ride Cinquante Cinq but he doesn't take his place, so he instead takes the ride on Douglas Whyte's runner (2) Good Omen.
(6) Tangmere has really come into form recently, winning back-to-back races over this track and distance in Class 4. He seemed to take plenty of confidence from the first of those wins, as he really put them to the sword last time out. He rises in class tonight but gets the aid of barrier 1, and Purton jumps off a last-start winner to keep the ride on him tonight, so that's a pretty good hint. He looks one of the better bets of the night. (2) Delightful Laos scored at huge odds on his Hong Kong debut over this track and distance and ran a very good final 400m in the process. He looks the logical danger.
