The big rain pelted down on Hong Kong on Sunday which meant forgetting about any semblance of form, fitness and common sense plus so-called tips. It came down to relying on dumb luck. It worked for some, but with no one winning the Triple Trio nor the Six Up Bonus jackpots as it rained down some huge upsets with hot favourites crashing and burning, many were not exactly singing and dancing in the rain.
With more dodgy weather predicted at another Happy Wednesday Goes Korean night at Happy Valley racecourse, one should tread warily.
This warning goes out despite the bullishness of The Three Amigos- Frenchie, Brettoni and the Lally Man- on the no expenses-spared HKJC produced “Racing To Win” Masterpiece Theatre programme which can be watched on the multimedia section of the Club’s website-an arduous task as one has to click in and out of each race instead of watching the entire shebang in one go- that leading jockeys Joao Moreira and Zac Purton could possibly ride five of the eight winners on the card.
Let’s hope The Three Amigos- good, fun hombres- are wrong as following both leading jockeys often offers no value. And why spend time putting down one’s hard earned money if the financial returns are going to be disappointing? One might as well take in the Beer Garden and see if there’s anything or anyone out there that might make your K-Pop go the weasel.
Speaking of which, along with a couple of friends we somehow landed on Channel 668- the 24/7 Chinese racing channel on NOWTV last night and were surprised to see highlights from last week’s Happy Wednesday night hosted by two ladies who were filmed virtual racing, then showing audiences the food on display- all very good and entertaining and very Hello Kitty cuteness for local audiences- before tucking into the various dishes and speaking to the camera with their mouths full. Not cool.
We had to switch the television off, lie down next to each other, hold hands and inhale and exhale very slowly. It wasn’t sexy viewing. We and our digestive tracts needed some recovery time. Some calm.
Getting back to tonight’s races….Never ever looking at the overnight odds and being swayed by what we might see- we hear that Magnetism that has gone around at pretty luxurious odds at its last few starts was only 6 to 1 in the last race. Huh?- and always chilling out and watching the first two races to see if there’s any track bias- this makes reading anything too deep into speed maps another waste of time- hardly being students and masters of horse racing, we’d rather be the masters of our own domain and just do our own thing yada yada yada. If anyone wishes to come along for the ride, fine. If not, yada yada yada.
One thing we really don’t understand is why in-form jockeys who we follow- Olivier Doleuze, Brett Prebble and Matthew Chadwick- often end up with rides that have no chances of winning. Tonight, Prebble and Doleuze have two measly rides whereas despite Matthew Chadwick riding a long priced double on Sunday, his reward is going around three outsiders. Ridiculous. But not so ridiculous if they win on a couple of them.
RACE 1
Raichu (1) with the Zac Attack aboard will start a very short favourite and will more than likely give the popular Aussie his 800th winner in Hong Kong. Here’s hoping he does it. And here’s hoping they blast out the new Zac Attack song at the Beer Garden after this huge accomplishment. We’ll be sitting back and watching both this and the next race while inhaling everything around us with a Korean flavour.
The one concern about backing Raichu is that he’s not a very big horse, he’s carrying top weight and offers no value. But if a fan of the Zac Attack, stand back and see if he delivers. He should, but we’re staying out of the race.
SELECTIONS
Raichu (1) Sparkling Talent (4) Scarborough Fair (5) Telecom Talent (6)
RACE 2
Golden Kid (3) came from off the pace and let down with a withering winning run over 1650 metres at his last start. Alberto Sanna sticks with the Kid as he tackles probably an even more suitable distance- 1800 metres.
We hope he wins what is a very even race as we like Sanna, the Chinese racing media likes him as do owners and trainers as he gives a hundred percent, and we all hope to see Mambo Italiano back in Hong Kong as a Club jockey for a full season.
Despite a two day suspension coming up, if Sanna can ride 5-6 more winners before the end of the season, this will go a long way towards seeing him back for the 2018-19 season of change.
As for tonight, could the combination of Golden Kid and Alberto Sanna strike again? Diplomatically put, It’s an interesting race to watch. There’s something about this race that has sirens going off in our heads.
SELECTIONS
Golden Kid (3) Savannah Wind (1) Celebration (10) Loaded (5)
RACE 3
The first leg of the Six Up and a distance race over 2200 metres with the favourite certain to be the Joao Moreira mount King Bountiful (5).
Yes, he can win, but other than Amigo Brettoni mentioning something along the lines of how “he likes to feel himself before he gets going”, King Bountiful is just not one of our horses, certainly not on a win line. And certainly not if he needs to feel himself before deciding to get going.
Plus, whenever there’s not the experience and guile of Brett Prebble in these staying races in Hong Kong, brain freeze can happen and things often turn into a bit of a farce. We also hold firm to the belief that in the first leg of the Six Up, more often than not, the favourite bites the dust just like a Queen song. This is not an easy first leg of the Six Up.
SELECTIONS
Audacity (6) Je Pense (2) King Bountiful (3) Play It (7)
RACE 4 SELECTIONS
Clear Choice (10) All My Gain Split Of A Second (8) California Aspar (1)
RACE 5
An extremely competitive race where despite there being two “Doctors” running- Dr Proactive and Dr Race- the final prognosis might never be known. We’ll go for odds by leaving out the favourites and believing an upset is on the cards- hopefully not gas pains.
SELECTIONS
Winfull Patrol (9) Lunar Zephyr (8) Dashing Gainer (1) Flying Force (6)
RACE 6
On the “Racing To Win” Master Theatre Programme, Amigo Brettoni mentioned that “only two horses here can’t win- Harrier Jet and I’m The Conquist”, which had The Lally Man quip, “Well, there’s the quinella”. It shows just how open this race is though after being the meat in the sandwich at his last start on the rails and to still come an unlucky second, Fast Most Furious (6) looks hard to beat- unless he beats himself. We wouldn’t want that to happen. But it could.
SELECTIONS
Fast Most Furious (6) Travel Emperor (11) Prince Harmony (4) Double Valentine (12)
RACE 7
SELECTIONS
Charity Glory (3) Shanghai Master (5) Encore Boy (11) Master Albert (9)
RACE 8
SELECTIONS
Don’t Miss (11) Play Wise (4) Emperor Impero (6) Har Har Heart (8)
BEST BET
Race 4 Clear Choice (10)
NEXT BEST
Race 7 Charity Glory (3)
LONGSHOT
Race 10 Don’t Miss (11)
PARTING SHOT
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