It's a rare Thursday meeting at Sha Tin in Hong Kong, with the 10-race card headlined by the G3 The National Day Cup. Tim Geers has highlighted the races he's keen to bet in so check out his preview and betting tips below!
Sha Tin Race 1 (Market)
(1) Pegasus Glory made a nice debut when finishing 2nd to Prince Of Gems over 1000m. He started 20/1 that day and we are being asked to take $2.10 today, but it looks the best form reference of those who have raced. Barrier 2 can be a bit tricky on the B-course but if he repeats his debut run he should be winning this. I think the value in the race is (9) Euro Lago at $34. Trainer Michael Chang doesn’t win many races so it’s hard to be confident, but this horse closed off nicely late in his recent trial and that’s the most he’s shown in his career. That was only an 800m trial and his best part was the final 100m so the 1200m first up should suit him. Barrier 5 is a nice draw and at huge odds I’ll have a tiny bit on.
Sha Tin Race 2 (Market)
(1) Happy Sebring finds a winnable race for his seasonal return today. He has raced well off a similar break to this in the past and this sort of distance is where he races best. Karis Teetan has won on both horses from this stable so I think it’s notable he chooses to stick with this one. The horse tends to jump slowly and settle back in the field so he’s going to need to be somewhere near his best to win first up at 1800m with ground to make up, but I also don’t think this race has a tremendous amount of depth.
Sha Tin Race 3 (Market)
This is a fairly weak race so it may be worth having something small on the Casper Fownes-trained (4) Fast Pace, who has finished 5th and 4th in his two career starts to date. He drew wide in both of those but he comes up with barrier 3 today, so we may see him settle further forward in the run. Fownes has made a hot start to the season, and although Moreira is currently his go-to jockey, Antoine Hamelin is no hack and in a field of nine runners, each way is the way to go here.
Sha Tin Race 4 (Market)
(4) Everyone’s Delight is on debut here for Frankie Lor and Zac Purton, having won his most recent trial in nice fashion. He should be able to find a good spot from barrier 4 and looks very hard to beat in only a moderate field. (2) Lucky Quality is a barrier rogue but we were on him first up and he ran well. He can go well again, while the Size-Moreira combination always has to be respected, especially when they team up on a debutant. They are represented by (3) Easy Fit.
(4) Everyone's Delight
$3.60
Sha Tin Race 8 (Market)
Very interesting and competitive race. We have a few coming out of the same race but the different form line is (1) Angel Of My Eyes, and it may well be the best form line. He won two starts ago before running 2nd to Leap Of Faith last start. He drew barrier 10 on that occasion and should get a good run from barrier 5 here with Purton retaining the ride. He carries top weight but looks the one to beat. (5) Seaweed Fortune was a surprise winner first up, defeating the likes of (6) Mighty Power who was back in 3rd. I think Mighty Power had every chance to win that race and Seaweed Fortune was pulling away on the line, so I’m surprised the market has them the other way around. Happy to say I think Seaweed Fortune has Mighty Power covered, so I’ll be backing Angel Of My Eyes and Seaweed Fortune here.
Also backing: (5) Seaweed Fortune $5.00
(1) Angel Of My Eyes
$3.20
Sha Tin Race 10 (Market)
We see the return of the promising (8) Mighty Giant here, who comes into today’s race having won four of his past five starts. This is his first time stepping up into a restricted Class 2, but he’s obviously a horse with plenty of talent. The negative today is barrier 13, but last time he started from a wide gate he went forward and won by 4.3L, so it’s not much of a concern for me. I think he’ll win again. (3) General’s Delight is a horse to keep safe at double figure odds. He can mix his form slightly but he’s a horse with the talent to win a race like this and he does drop in grade from harder races.
Value: (3) General's Delight $13
