What | Sha Tin Races |
Where | Sha Tin Racecourse – Tai Po Rd, Sha Tin District, Hong Kong |
When | Sunday, December 4, 2022 |
First Race | 1pm HKT |
Visit Ladbrokes |
The countdown for the Hong Kong International Races is now official on with this being the final Sha Tin card before we dive into the feature raceday on December 11. That’s not to mention the International Jockey Challenge set to unfold this Wednesday as the world’s best hoops converge on Happy Valley.
Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves, however, as Sha Tin hosts a 10-race card with a mix of four turf and six all-weather races this Sunday afternoon. We’ll be racing on a Good 4 track with perfect weather as the rail moves to the C+3 position so as to preserve the main part of the track for next weekend. Zac Purton and Antoine Hamelin will make their return to the saddle as well having been passed fit to ride after a COVID scare forced them to miss Wednesday night at Happy Valley.
Let’s try and find some winners to end the week in what looks a competitive meeting on paper.
Best Bet: Golden Bull
It’ll come as no shock we’ve landed with a Zac Purton mount for the best bet of the afternoon, and it comes in the form of Golden Bull in the third race of the program. He’s second-up after a strong effort when running second to the promising Dragon’s Luck on November 12, beaten two lengths while putting another 1.5 lengths on the rest of the field. He just raced very greenly when going between horses, but once he found clear running he looked to find the line with plenty left up his sleeve. Purton elects to stick with this Danny Shum-trained son of Tavaci, which is a great indicator. With a few unraced horses and likely second-elect Sugar Sugar’s best form coming at the Happy Valley circuit, we’re happy to side with Golden Bull in a race that, on paper, doesn’t seem to have a stack of depth. He looks progressive and if Purton can find the one-by-one from barrier seven, Golden Bull looks the one to beat.
Best Bet
Race 3 – #3 Golden Bull (7)
4yo Gelding | T: Danny Shum | J: Zac Purton (58kg)
Bet with Bet365
Next Best: A Pal
Derek Leung and Frankie Lor will be looking to combine for back-to-back wins when they team up again with A Pal in the penultimate race on the card. After a classy win in 1:21.27 for the 1400m, A Pal gets to stay in Class 3 company here and cops a 3kg penalty for his trouble, but his win was simply too good to think that will be an issue come Sunday afternoon. He smashed his rivals by three lengths on November 6 and was never in doubt that day when Leung held the rails run and zipped clear turning for home. The rail sits in the same position on Sunday as it did on that day, so we expect a very similar race to unfold for this gelding by More Than Ready. He should be lobbing on the leader’s back before having the option to peel outside or take the rails run. Either way, while this race looks tougher, he should be winning so long as Leung doesn’t get bottled up on the inside.
Next Best
Race 9 – #2 A Pal (1)
4yo Gelding | T: Frankie Lor | J: Derek Leung (59.5kg)
Bet with Palmerbet
Best Value: Run Run Cool
All our best bets will be running on the turf track this weekend, with this one down the Sha Tin straight. Run Run Cool looks an outstanding chance dropping back down to Class 3 after a tilt up to Class 2. Ignore his last two efforts when going around a turn at both Sha Tin and Happy Valley; instead, look to his Class 2 effort down the 1000m straight behind Lucky With You when only beaten a length. It was a huge effort out of his best grade, and now dropping back here with a 4.5kg claim courtesy of apprentice Angus Chung, Run Run Cool looks perfectly situated to recapture his best form from last preparation. Two of his four career wins come over this track and distance, while he’s had nine start and found the frame six times. We should be getting an each-way price about this five-year-old by Written Tycoon with online bookmakers, with Superb Boy likely to have the biggest market percentage. Look for this guy to drop in somewhere midfield before letting down with an impressive turn of foot to score.
Best Value
Race 6 – #1 Run Run Cool (9)
5yo Gelding | T: Angus Chung | J: Angus Chung (a4.5)(61kg)
Bet with Neds
Hong Kong quaddie tips for Sha Tin races
Sha Tin quadrella selections
Sunday, December 4, 2022
- 3-5-14
- 1-2-3-6-13
- 1-2-4-7-12
- 2-3-8
Investment: $240 for 100%
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