RACE 1
Gawd knows WTF happened, but Great Speed, the over-the-line favorite in the six-horse field ridden by Douglas Whyte, was all at sea from the word Go, and despite a bump by Exaggeration, it was never going to win- and always going to lose- while Andy Suborics continued to add to his surge of winners by winning on Fresh And Fresh after a great duel to the line with Karis Teetan on Just Ace.
RACE 2
Race caller was far more exciting to listen to than what was a plodding race where Alex Lai, though riding like a New Territories farmer, made all the right tactical moves and got Natural Team home on a track that looked to be very “gooey” while Moreira, of course, looked great on Hit The Bid, but could only manage second whereas, as predicted, the well-backed Just Mistere was Les Miserables and ran fifth.
RACE 3
Hughie Bowman- in great form- rode a terrific race to get old-timer Nightlign to topple over the line and hold off another nine-year-old in Good Luck Win (Mark DuPlessis).
Wine Lovers and Joyful made positive moves, but wobbled around like the Legless Ones in Wanchai and ended up galloping backwards for an Egg McMuffin.
RACE 4
Andy Leung was prancing around the course as if an owner- is he?- and waived to his throngs of fans- two of them- and scared a few horses in the paddock, but none of this affected Bunker Shot, though still very green, from winning easily for Brett Prebble and giving Caspar Fownes his 54th win- two behind John Size.
The big winner in our group was the person who whacked $38,888- her lucky numbers- on it to win as she’s following the US Open and sank her first hole in one last week.
The big loser in the race appears to be whoever purchased first-starter Forever Accurate, which, to put it politely, ran like Kermit after a porker with Miss Piggy.
RACE 5
And so it came time for the first leg of the Triple Trio and the $118m jackpot- a life-changing bet IF one were to win it.
What happened?
Well, Brett Prebble was to the foooooore again and won easily on Win Along- a roarer- which was racing down a class and following a stable change to that of Francis Lui.
At the end of the first leg of the TT, the result was 3-11-2 and a $4,798 tierce with a terrible traffic jam in the middle of the race involving- uh oh- Joao Moreira on Life Of Beauty which was shut out of the race- but it was all smiles for Team Win Along.
RACE 6
The second leg of the TT, and with plenty alive after the first leg, there was an air of confidence- and heavy perspiration- wafting through the air for what was meant to be the easiest leg of the exotic bet.
Not so for many though one of the favorites- Celestial Smile- made enormous ground to run third.
Thanksgiving led all the way for Derek Leung while “sure place bets”- Family Interest and Sparkling Sword- finished out of the money- like many punters.
RACING 7
The last leg of the Triple Trio and there was a beauty of a ride by Tommy Berry on the well-backed Industrial Way to take out this race for Dennis Yip.. BUT, Malayan Pearl and 60 to 1 outsider Cheryl’s Horse ridden by Christian Reith ensures a $94 MILLION jackpot is up for grabs next weekend!
Cheryl’s Horse??? It lost by over 29 lengths at its last start!!!
RACE 8
It’s been two years since Mark DuPlessis has ridden here, but the Group 1 winning rider is no second banana, and takes out the day’s Cup race on Fantastico while most of the others in money in the 1000m sprint do squat.
That Christian man Reith brings in another outsider to place- Dynamic Voyage- and a second Double Trio that pays over $1 million.
RACE 9
Moreira wins on second favorite Bullish Smart for trainer Tony Cruz with favorite Sun Pins coming second. Outsider Best Tango, ridden by Andy Suborics comes in from the clouds to run a close third and take any value out of the Six Up.
RACE 10
There was a little “DIIIIUUUUU” action in the peanut gallery when someone took over another’s “seat” which he had “reserved” by placing his newspaper on his “space”- oh, please- but, apart from that, it was a mundane affair with Joao Moreira winning easily at 1.20.98 over the 1400m on hot favorite Wonderful Moments for John Size.
The JJ Team- John and Joao- looks like being a very formidable team next season and Champions in the waiting.
RACE 11
Well, with no chance for a big Six Up payout, no Triple Trio payout, no big third Double Trio and treble payouts, a decent Quartet bet is all one can look forward to though the odds say, Nah.
The odds were wrong as Pablosky running fourth at 40s made it a $40,000 Quartet.
As for the winner, Dougie Whyte led on Fantastic Kaka and then, just when it looked as if Tommy Berry on Let Me Go had his measure, vintage Whyte hit another gear and he got his mount home with strong hands and heels riding that is his hallmark.
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