Sunday’s racing at Sha Tin saw a new jockeys’ championship leader for the first time this season as Zac Purton took the lead from Joao Moreira. Joao had led ever since winning the first race of the 2017/18 season in September, but Zac now holds a one-win lead, 117 to 116, after riding two winners on Sunday.
Tonight at Happy Valley, we will be soaking up our Samba fiesta in the second week of our Carnivale of Action parties, with Brazilian-themed performances, special food treats and cocktails all on offer to our fans. Perhaps it is appropriate then, as resident band Carnivale charms our fans in the beer garden, that Joao makes his return tonight as he aims to return to the top of the standings. The proud Brazilian should feel right at home at Happy Valley and will be hoping to make a statement on a night that celebrates his culture.
The battle between the Magic Man and the Zac Attack has captivated the racing world and it is sure to be worth watching tonight and over the next month as the Hong Kong season comes to a thrilling conclusion. Zac has been the leading rider at Happy Valley this season with 43 wins (from 210 rides at 20.48%) to Joao’s 31 wins (from 201 rides at 15.42%), so on paper, Zac has the edge at the four city-track meetings left this season.
Tonight, Zac has been booked for seven rides including Aeroluminance, Hot King Prawn and Super Hoppy, while Joao is fully booked with in-form runners like Zero Hedge and Thunder Stomp. This makes the Jockey Challenge quite fascinating tonight, with our odds makers framing the early market as Zac at 2 and Joao at 2.35 yesterday.
On an encouraging note, after a series of cross-boundary horse movement trial runs over a two-year period, Conghua Training Centre (CTC) became operational yesterday when the first batch of horses to be stabled at CTC arrived at Conghua to mark the beginning of operations of the world class training centre.
This is a critical milestone that paves the way for our racehorses to take up residence at Conghua Training Centre next month, with the first horses in-training to be shipped from Sha Tin to Conghua in mid-July. It is a massive achievement that signals the commencement of dual-site operations.
Back to racing tonight, the highlight is the Class 2 Wong Nai Chung Gap Handicap at 1200 metres which goes as Race 7 on the night. Hot King Prawn makes his first ever appearance at Happy Valley and though he has never trialled over the course, he is a win and place chance off his excellent form. His perfect 5-for-5 record was snapped when he ran second in his last outing but he has natural speed and looks like he will handle the course and distance under Zac Purton.
Archippus makes the final start of his ISG career and, as usual, he is in with a place chance. The nine-time winner, sold at HK$3 million in the 2013 Hong Kong International Sale (March) and with current earnings in excess of HK$9.4 million, must carry top weight but will be closing ground late. Attention made a promising debut in Class 3 at Sha Tin last month and despite the wide draw and jump in grade, he is a place chance carrying 105 pounds. Super Fluke has enjoyed a banner year with five wins to his credit and remains in good form. The addition of blinkers may have him closer to the pace and he is also a place chance.
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