Welcome to our horse racing preview and betting tips for racing at Sha Tin on Sunday, May 3rd.
It's a huge 11-race card this afternoon, with races on both the turf and the dirt, with the G3 Queen Mother Memorial Cup headlining the program.
Check out our best bets for the meeting below.
Sha Tin Racing Tips: Sunday, May 3rd
Best Bet: Race 5 - (13) Happy Alumni
Best Value: Race 11 - (13) Emerald Spur
This is a pretty good little Class 4 so winning on debut isn't going to be easy to do, but the recent trial of (8) Kinda Cool was outstanding. Zac Purton takes the ride for Frankie Lor and he's been aboard for all three of the horse's trials. He hasn't been asked to do much but in his recent trial, he was asked to extend and win the trial, which he did under very little pressure. He spent half the trial looking for a run but once it came and Purton gave him shake, he went straight past the others like they were glued to the floor. Barrier 10 is no issue down the straight course and although it's a deep Class 4, he looks a very good chance. (5) Dublin Star and (6) Fabulous Eight looks the realistic dangers, which is reflected in the market.
Really keen on (13) Happy Alumni here. He won over this track and distance four starts ago and he's had three runs in Class 3 since then. He had four weeks between runs and a trial leading into his last run, and the way he hit the line was enormous. He got shuffled back in the field about 1000m from home, before angling out and hitting the line with a 21.87sec final 400m. He was the only horse in the race to break 22sec for his final sectional. He draws barrier 9 here but that's not so bad, he remains on 53kg and so long as he's close enough to have a crack at them on the turn, I expect him to give this a huge shake. Only little query is the jockey but at $4.40 he's a great bet. (2) Quadruple Double looks the danger resuming from a break. He's finished in the top two in five of his six starts over the track and distance. Draws well in barrier 6 and has trialled three times leading into his reappearance today, though I did think his recent trial was only fair. There's three horses making their HK debut having previously raced overseas, so they are fairly hard to assess.
(4) Excel Delight is our favourite here and will be popular, but he's had his chances recently and there looks to be a few at good value around him. (7) Striking Mr C has turned his form around this campaign. At the end of last prep, he was declared a roarer but he had tie-back surgery to fix that, and it's worked a treat. He's won two of his three starts this preparation, both of which have been on the dirt. First up he cantered in by 5.5L, then he failed on the turf, before coming out last start and winning by 3.5L on the dirt again. He's had 10 weeks off since then and has had two trials to prepare him for this. It's his first start up in Class 4 tday, but if he can spear across from barrier 12 and find the front, he's going to give them all something to chase. $9.00 looks a good bet. (2) Goldie Flanker produced a huge effort to run down Excel Delight last start. Trainer Manfred Man has a terrific record with his runners over 1200m on the dirt. He only meets Excel Delight 0.5kg worse at the weights for that meeting and he's more than double the price. Have to have something on him again. The other scary runner is (3) Joyful Moments. He dropped into Class 4 last start where he was ridden by Jack Wong and finished midfield behind Goldie Flanker and Excel Delight. Purton goes straight on today which catches the eye and don't be surprised to see him right in the finish. He's also a $10 chance. I'd be taking on Excel Delight here, with my main bet on Striking Mr C, and two smaller bets on Goldie Flanker and Joyful Moments.
Good contest over the 2000m. I'm going to stick with (5) London Hall. He won back-to-back races over this track and distance before finishing 3rd at Happy Valley last start, where he ran well in a race that just got set up for the backmarkers. Vincent Ho takes over from Matthew Chadwick today and that's a positive jockey upgrade. He draws well and should be right in the finish once again. (8) Defining Moment is flying, with back-to-back wins over 1600m and 1800m here at Sha Tin. He now rises in class but drops in weight. He carried 60kg from barrier 14 last start, but carries 53kg from barrier 3 today. The step up in trip should be no issue for him the way he's been finishing off his races and he looks a big danger to London Hall. (9) God Of Dragon next best.
Three horses I'll highlight to finish off the card here. I'm very keen on (13) Emerald Spur, who looks terrific value at $7.50. He won back-to-back races over the track and distance in September/October last year, before eventually rising in class to Class 3. He's had two runs in Class 3 now and both have been very good efforts. He led two starts ago and was run down, but only beaten 1.7L. Last start, he was trapped three-wide no cover the entire race (with a horse pestering him to his outside as well), hit the front 200m out and was just overhauled late, but again he battled on to be beaten only 1.3L. We need a better ride from Vincent Ho here but with any luck, he's a great chance at each way odds. (10) Juneau Park comes out of a strong race behind Mighty Giant, who has won three in a row. It wasn't a bad run at all and he won consecutive races here leading into that. He draws well again and should be around the mark. (1) Racing Fighter drops into Class 3 and Zac Purton goes straight on. It's a profitable formula when Purton goes straight onto a class-dropper, and despite the wide draw, it would be no surprise to see him go close.
