Welcome to our horse racing preview and betting tips for racing at Sha Tin on Sunday, April 26th.
It's 2020 FWD Champions Day on Sunday, featuring three Group 1s - the Chairman's Sprint, Champions Mile and QEII Cup.
Check out our preview and betting tips for the meeting below!
Sha Tin Racing Tips: 2020 FWD Champions Day
Best Bet: Race 6 - (1) Wellington
Best Value: Race 10 - (9) General's Delight
Near on impossible race to kick off the program. (1) Chairman Lo takes up plenty of the market here and he'll be right in the finish, but he often is and he never wins. He's still a maiden from 14 starts. He's third up today but I thought he once again had every conceivable chance last start and he gets no favours today out in barrer 13. (12) Winston's Lad can win this I think. He was very brave last start, sitting three-wide the trip before coming just about the widest in the straight. He battled on admirably to be beaten 1.4L at the finish. Prior to that he ran home strongly over 1200m. Jockey change today with Hamelin taking over and he's in terrific form since arriving. At $9.00 he's a decent price. (13) City Legend is an even bigger cat than Chairman Lo, he's still a maiden from 26 starts, with 12 placings, nine of which were 2nds! He's placed nine times over the track and distance but the negative for him is the wide gate. Even so, it's a thin race so if he were to run his usual race he'd be a strong place chance with about $4.00 the drum on offer. (3) Charge On is another that draws wide but he was a last-start winner over the track and distance and is still only lightly-raced. (8) My Winner can be included.
Good little race. (1) Ka Ying Legend comes off a dominant win over the track and distance, jumping straight to the front from barrier 1 and leading all the way to score by early 4L. He cops a 4.5kg rise in the weights for that so that's already going to make it tough to repeat, and he doesn't get all the favours from barrier 1 today. Not to say he can't win but this is tougher. (2) War Room makes his stable debut for David Hall and Zac Purton is an eye-catching jockey booking. I thought his recent trial was only fair but the booking of Purton does scare me. (6) War Of Courage won over the 1000m straight course on that occasion and he's already had early market support, but I thought he was vulnerable today. He only fell in last start over the 1000m and he had all the favours after starting from the wide gate. He draws wide again today except he steps up to 1200m, so the wide gate today isn't a positive like it was last start. (9) Bright Vision has only had two starts in Hong Kong and his latest one was a big improvement on his first run. He ran 3rd behind Fantasy, who then came out and won again last weekend. He draws ideally in barrier 4 and at his third run in HK, he looks a decent each way bet at $9.00. (11) California Turbo is our favourite with Moreira on for Tony Cruz. He ran 3rd last start after drawing wide, and he gets a soft draw today in barrier 2. He'll be thereabouts.
(9) Bright Vision E/W
$9.00
(1) Good Luck Friend saluted at his second career start last time out, leading all the way to score by a length over this track and distance. On that occasion, Zac Purton took over from Alex Lai in the saddle so it was no surprise to see him improve. He cops a 4.5kg penalty for that win and he also draws barrier 12 here, so if he's going to lead he's going to have to do some work to get there. I'd rather be in the corner of (8) Judy's Star at $4.40. He ran well for 2nd first up and then last start he blew the start but ran home strongly to be beaten 1.5L. That was in the same race as Good Luck Friend when he was on debut. There was 0.25L separating the two, Judy's Star recorded the faster final sectionals, and he meets Good Luck Friend 4kg better off at the weights. He's drawn well in barrier 5 so as well as he jumps okay, he should be right in this. I wouldn't be leaving out the Size/Moreira debutant (6) Rhapsody at each way odds. He looks the value. He's trialled well a few times leading into his debut today and the form out of the trial he won has proved strong with the 2nd horse winning first up. He's drawn wide in 11 but at $8.00 he's worth having something on.
Value: (6) Rhapsody $8.00
This is wide-open. I count about five horses with good claims of winning this. I'll go with (10) Joyful Heart on top. He won back-to-back races earlier in the season when Purton rode him, and since then he's run consecutive placings with different jockeys. Purton gets back aboard today for the first time since winning on him and he gets down to a very light weight to do so, which is always a positive lead. (6) Hall Of Champ is a horse I've backed a few times recently and a win really isn't far away for him. I'd rather a positive jockey change but they stick with Poon here. The positive is that he gets up to the mile after running over 1200m and 1400m recently. He's been settling a long way back and finishing off well without ever really being put into the race. I'd like a proactive ride but I doubt we'll get it from the wide gate. In any case, $13 is a good price once again. (13) Cheerful Leader won over the track and distance two starts ago in Class 4 and stepped up to Class 3 last start. He was caught wide without cover and still put a good gap on them in the straight before tiring late and being overrun. He was beaten less than a length and that was a good effort considering the work he did. He draws soft today in gate 4, Moreira sticks and he really gets every chance. (2) Lakeshore Eagle was the horse who ran him down last start. He cops a 2.5kg rise in the weights for that and that might just be enough to find him out in a field like this, but he's in good form and draws well. Chad Schofield is on fire recently and he jumps off Joyful Heart and rides (8) Gift Of Lifeline, with his regular rider Karis Teetan choosing Lakeshore Eagle instead. Gift Of Lifeline is flying. He motored home from the back of the field last start and was the only horse to break 23 seconds for his final 400m. He's drawn wide again so will be a long way off them but watch for him hitting the line late. Joyful Heart and Hall Of Champ in an open race for me.
Value: (6) Hall Of Champ $13
The first Group 1 of the day. The way this race goes basically depends on how (11) Aethero jumps. If he jumps well and leads, he most likely wins this, but it's a big IF based on what we saw last start. He missed the jump and then copped a big squeeze straight afterwards, which was the end of his race. Once he jumps slowly and gets caught between horses, he overraces badly and fails. If he jumps clean, he'll have more speed than any of these and should just find the front. From there, he'll be very difficult to run down. So the question is whether you want to take $2.50 for a horse that can prove unreliable. (7) Voyage Warrior was the beneficiary of Aethero jumping poorly last start, taking the lead and going all the way to win the G2 Sprint Cup, beating (1) Hot King Prawn by a length. He's always been a horse with enormous ability, he lost his marbles for a while there but he really bounced back to what we thought he could be early on. Expect him to come across and sit outside Aethero from barrier 10 and he's certainly not hopeless again at double figure odds. Hot King Prawn should box seat from barrier 1 and run his usual honest race. He's only missed a place once from 17 career starts. (2) Thanks Forever was brave in that same race last start, caught wide without cover but still running on well for 3rd.
(1) Wellington is a very exciting horse on the rise through the grades. He's unbeaten from three career starts coming into today and there's no reason he can't make it four from four. He won in cruise control last start, looming up to the leaders at the 200m mark before going to the line untouched. Zac didn't pull the whip once and he barely got out of second gear. He cops a big rise in the weights today but he's drawn soft in barrier 3. There's a few nice horses in this race but expect Wellington to prove too good once again.
Race 7 - G1 FWD Champions Mile (Market)
This is a really interesting betting race. (1) Beauty Generation has silenced a few people who thought he was gone - myself included - with back-to-back wins at G1 and G2 level his past two starts. The margin might not have been big last start but he did it with a bit more in hand. Purton didn't hit him once with the whip, he just went to the line comfortably under hands and heels. From barrier 1 he probably finds a similar spot in running up on speed and the way he's going, he's going to be right in the finish again. The thing to keep in mind is that last start he started second favourite to (2) Waikuku, who was the odds-on favourite. And Waikuku had Beauty Generation's measure in a number of meetings leading into that. But Waikuku was clearly well below par, dropping out to be beaten 5L. He's been back to the trials since then, where he looked good, and if you can forgive him for one poor run, his $3.70 price today might prove to be very good. You have to respect his SP profile from last start and probably forgive him for that run. No doubt Beauty Generation is now the one to beat, but I'd be taking the $3.70 for Waikuku.
Race 8 - G1 FWD QEII Cup (Market)
(1) Exultant has proven he's the best horse in Hong Kong over this sort of distance the past couple of seasons and with even luck he should be winning again today. He just found a race shape that was completely unsuitable for him last start, with (2) Time Warp getting a picnic out in front and being unable to be run down. Time Warp can do that when left alone in front but don't be surprised if Zac was to make an early move here and try to make it into a staying test. (3) Furore ran well over the mile last start behind Beauty Generation and he draws barrier 1 here which should prove a positive over the 2000m. The interesting runner in the race is the four-year-old (6) Playa Del Puente, who almost snatched the HK Derby from Golden Sixty last start. He took off a long way from home and caught them all napping, and he was exceptionally brave in defeat. He was beaten by a freak. The tactics with him will be very interesting here to see whether Blake Shinn attempts to do a similar thing. He's the one that brings the separate formline to the race through the Derby. (7) Glorious Dragon ran 2nd to Exultant a few starts back in the Centenary Vase and is a roughie to fill a place.
Another good little contest. (7) Gold Chest won over the track and distance two starts back before dropping back to the 1000m last start and charging home from back in the field to be beaten half-a-length by today's favourite (4) Computer Patch. Computer Patch then came out last start and ran 2nd to (6) Shining Ace, so the three of them all meet here. I think getting back to 1200m is going to suit Gold Chest, and he gets a huge jockey change with Purton taking over from Matthew Poon. Computer Patch also gets a big jockey change, with Moreira taking over from Chadwick. Moreira jumps off Shining Ace to do so, with Teetan riding Shining Ace. Shining Ace isn't hopeless either, he found the front and led all the way when winning last start, taking his record to three wins and a 2nd from four starts at the track and distance. Should be a cracking race, Gold Chest on top for me.
(12) General's Delight gets apprentice Alfred Chan on today and carries just 48.5kg so don't be surprised to see him jump to the front here. He ran well two starts ago and then had no luck last time out, caught wide the entire race before battling on into 5th. He's third up now and from the wide draw I suspect they'll go forward. If he can get across to lead, he could be very hard to run down at each way odds. (13) Monica is racing in good form. He steps up into Class 2 for the first time but he carries a light weight as well and should be able to go well again. (1) Preciousship won back-to-back races over this track and distance leading into last start, where he was beaten 0.5L in Class 1. Back into Class 2, he is going to be very hard to beat, but does have the top weight and a wide draw to contend with.
(12) General's Delight E/W
$9.00
