Waaaaai??? Hello??? YES!!! All’s well that ends well!!
It sometimes resembled a scene where the Keystone Cops are bumbling their way through a series of pratfalls.
All this followed The Zac Man testing positive to Covid-19 and Hugh Bowman being welcomed to Hong Kong by having to “self isolate” when a family member supposedly tested positive.
With hopefully there are lessons to be learned from all this, here we finally are at what is pretty much a dress rehearsal before the big dance of the World Turf Championships on December 11 at Shatin.
The slow and piecemeal way of how the government is going about “opening up” Hong Kong hasn’t helped. Often, the efforts seem as foggy as being on Valium, but, hey...
Maybe the Hong Kong Jockey Club should hold some bai san ceremonies between now and the week of the International Races to avoid any more bad joss blowing its way and another appearance by the chasing pack of Keystone Cops.
Perhaps the Chilean bred Hong Kong Great winning the Singapore Gold Cup at Kranji Racecourse yesterday when ridden by Mark Zahra is a sign of better things to come?
Back at home base, Mikael Barzalona is here as a very expensive pinch hitter- you, know, just in case something new pops up like a zit-and overall things point to quite a bang-a-gong-shang-a-lamma-ding dong Bank of China race day at Shatin.
Frankly, we’re still processing everything and nothing that’s happened over the last few days in order to get to where things are while wondering whether the Club forgot the very good riding talent already here before flying in Mikael Barzalona to ride a horse in Class 4. The mind boggles, Toto.
What has us REALLY stumped however is why Hugh Bowman is not in the lineup and representing Australia in the International Jockeys’ Championship. He’s not apples?
One can only assume that those who get paid the big bucks over at 1 Sports Road had their reasons for this decision. Or was it an oversight brought on by brain freeze?
Moving right along, it was good to know that almost everything we suggested as Quartet bets for last Wednesday night came through and offered plenty of value.
One really doubts that lightning will strike twice though today is Sunday and the races are at Shatin where there’s a Triple Trio jackpot of almost $40 million carried forward and must be tackled even if it means picking lucky telephone numbers.
If this isn’t for you and you wouldn’t know a Triple Trio from a Triple Decker Club Sandwich, perhaps have a 3x1 all-up win on the three major races and then put the cue back in the rack.
With just seven runners in it, most will see the Jockey Club Mile as a two horse race between Golden Sixty and California Spangle. But as we all should know by now, horse racing has a nasty habit of kicking dirt in the face of things that look too easy.
Though difficult to see the Tony Cruz runner California Spangle at least not running in the first two, we can’t be as confident about Golden Sixty.
The galloper has been a wonderful champion for Hong Kong racing and well managed by the low-key team around him.
However, like many of us, except for perhaps Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, Golden Sixty is not getting any younger and one cannot help wondering if his best days might be behind him.
As for the Jockey Club Sprint, and the last leg of the Triple Trio, logically, Wellington should win this and young contender to the throne in Lucky Sweynesse, who’s drawn the carpark- barrier eleven- giving him most to do.
The BOCHK Jockey Club Cup is going to come down to tactics and which rider is smarter than the average bear- and has lady luck riding on their side.
James McDonald is in town for this race and hasn’t been flown out to ride the Danny Shum trained Romantic Warrior on a whim.
It might be a familiarisation tour of duty for J-Mac who will partner the galloper for the main event on December 11. This is not to say that the runner is going around to soak up the scenery.
The same could be said of Blake Shinn being in town to ride Russian Emperor and Sky Field. Shinn, an unpredictable dude at the best of times, is one of those riders who can make something happen out of nothing, especially in distance races, and where tactics and surprise moves come into play.
Though the second race with a number of debutants looks interesting, what’s a bit of a bummer is to end the day on an ordinary looking Class Three event, where one hopes an outsider upsets the dim sum tray and offers some value.
If not, and those three major races run according to what every taxi driver and their dog is tipping, exotic bets like the six up and treble will play less than a tuppence.
Maybe this would be a good thing. It could offer the chance the next month to watch some world class competitive horse racing in all its Oh Happy Day glory and without the need for gimmicks.
Keep your powder dry until December 11.
