Welcome to our horse racing preview and betting tips for racing at Sha Tin on Sunday, April 7th.
It's a cracking day of racing, with a number of Hong Kong's star horses stepping out. Those include Beauty Generation, Mr Stunning, Beat The Clock, Pakistan Star, Waikuku, Dark Dream and Full Of Beauty!
We've picked out our three best bets for the meeting below!
SHA TIN BEST BETS
RACE 1
We see the Hong Kong debut of Beauty Charisma here, formerly known as Fifth Amendment in Australia. He was undefeated in two starts in Australia and has had three trials leading into his first start in Hong Kong today. He's progressed steadily in each trial, with the latest of them clearly showing he's ready to go to the races. He led all the way in a very strong trial, which included the likes of Mr Stunning, who will go around the favourite in today's Group 2 Sprint. The little negative for Beauty Charisma is the fact he's drawn barrier 4, which isn't ideal down the 1000m straight at Sha Tin, which heavily favours the outside rail runners. However, he's got good tactical speed so he may be able to jump and work his way over to the grantstand side. He'll be very competitive for Zac Purton and John Moore.
RACE 8
Full Of Beauty is undefeated in five career starts to date and looks capable of making that six today. He made the step up to Class 2 last start and handled it relatively easily. He started from barrier 10 that day but was given a great ride by Moreira. He should get a suck run from barrier 2 on this occasion and he carries the same weight as he did when winning last start, so he should be able to win again here. I think his biggest danger is probably Styling City but that horse has so far only won over 1000m, whereas all five of Full Of Beauty's victories have come at the 1200m, so he holds the advantage there.
RACE 9
A Hong Kong Derby rematch of sorts here, with 2nd placegetter Waikuku taking on 4th placegetter Dark Dream. It sets up for a fascinating contest today, with both producing huge runs under very different circumstances in the Derby. Waikuku came from a near impossible position back in the field, while Dark Dream sat three-wide without cover the entire race and still battled on admirably. Waikuku draws wide again today and carries top weight, while Dark Dream draws well in barrier 5 and gets 2.5kg off Waikuku. The winner may be determined pre-race - Dark Dream was full of attitude before the Derby and Purton admitted that cooked him before the race had even begun. If he behaves well pre-race, I think Dark Dream will win. He'll get first run on Waikuku and with a little bit of weight in his favour, he could take plenty of running down.
