Welcome to our horse racing preview and betting tips for racing at Sha Tin on Wednesday, May 27th.
It's an all-weather program at Sha Tin this evening, with nine races on the dirt for midweek racing in Hong Kong.
Check out our preview and betting tips for the Wednesday night action below!
Sha Tin Racing Tips: Wednesday, May 27th
Best Bet: Race 6 - (10) Super Power Man (also backing Ka Ying Legend)
Best Value: Race 3 - (5) Jade Theatre
Race 1
This looks a very winnable race for the debutant (7) Winning Brew, who has trialled the house down leading into his first race start tonight. He won two trials up in Conghua and then ran 2nd in a trial behind Hot King Prawn, with Thanks Forever further back. They are Group 1 horses and he hasn't had a start yet, but you wouldn't know the way he ran in that trial! He looked to handle the dirt fine and he draws perfectly in barrier 3 for his debut tonight. The big query I have is the fact trainer Frankie Lor has had 18 runners over 1200m on the dirt this season, and not one of them has run a place! In fact, Frankie has only had three placings from 45 runners on the dirt this season. I'm going to take the punt that the horse is good enough but those stats really are uninspiring. I could give a chance to (2) Dollar Reward and (1) Blotting Paper at huge odds.
Race 3
I think the $8.50 about (5) Jade Theatre looks appealing here for what screams 'set up' here. Since Purton last rode him, he's been ridden by Matthew Poon, Alex Lai (three times), Derek Leung and most recently, Alfred Chan. Last start he dropped into Class 4 for the first time since in his career, he was snagged straight back by the apprentice and finished third last. Now all of a sudden, Purton goes on. Manfred Man has a terrific record with his runners over 1200m on the dirt, with nine winners from 33 runners this season. I'm tipping we will see him ridden much more aggressively here and expect a sharp improvement. (8) Viva Council can be forgiven for his last-start run when trapped wide throughout. He may try to get across and lead here, while (11) Demons Rock rises in class after finally winning last start. He'll get a good run from the inside gate but Poon replaces Purton and he's going poorly.
Race 4
Good little race and hard to split the three at the top of the market. Purton jumps on (3) Kings Shield who is a dirt specialist. He needs to lead rather than take a sit so I expect them to ride him very aggressively tonight. Forget he went around last start, that was on the turf and he just doesn't go on that surface. (4) Mongolian King ran down Kings Shield to win last start, which backed up a good run prior. He's now got a win and a 2nd from two starts on the dirt so he clearly likes the surface. He carries a bit more weight tonight but another win isn't out of his reach. (1) Buddies comes off a win on the turf and he goes well on the dirt as well, having never missed a place from seven attempts. Jerry Chau goes on so he gets a very handy claim but if Kigns Shield holds him out for the lead, that might be the key difference.
Race 6
(10) Super Power Man comes into this off back-to-back wins on the Sha Tin dirt and he drops down in the weights tonight with his rise in class. Manfred Man has a great record with his runners over 1200m on the dirt, with nine winners from 33 runners at the track and distance this season. I think it was a decent form race the last one he won, and even though he's up in class, I think he can win again. I'll also be backing (1) Ka Ying Legend. He's never raced on the dirt but he's got American bloodlines on both sides of his family and they typically handle all-weather tracks. He bolted in on the turf two starts ago and with the claim for the apprentice tonight, gets back down to a winnable mark. Drawn well and looks a bit of value at $8.00.
Value: (1) Ka Ying Legend $8.00
(10) Super Power Man
$2.90
