A very slow pace was set early here before the leader sprinted home in the final-400m which was 1.24 inside of standard. The leader and winner Charitydream didn’t post a good figure overall. It was another good run from Green Generation who missed the start and was slow to muster. I’m not sure I learnt much from the race with such a slow tempo set.

Note: Party Everyday had a swollen leg the next day. This race rated well, although these conditions might have been a key factor. That said, Skyey Surpreme won by a three-and-a-half-length margin and now from four starts he has managed a win and two seconds. The booking of Moreira could have been a positive and the horse might be able to go on with it. Skyey Supreme was issued a 10-point penalty for the win but he can be competitive again, while Party Everyday was sound in defeat after missing the start quite badly. 

They move the outside rail in 6 metres, but it hasn’t seemed to make a difference so far, the outside of the straight track is clearly the best place to be. After adjustments I had this race rating quite well for the Class 4 grade. I will be sticking with Carry The Diamond who will be better for the experience and arguably better up to 1200m or further. The form should stack up okay behind Fabulous Eight and United We Stand.

This was a nice race to watch again! The pace was generous but ultimately Tianchi Monster was too good. Charity Go will strip fitter for the run and can be followed over further. Cheerful Leader continues to run well in defeat and there will be a race for him shortly. The form should work out well enough out of this one. Mr Aldan was disappointing on the face of things, but returned with a minor laceration to the left hind heel.

This race rated quite well for the Class 4 grade and there were plenty in this race given poor rides, in terms of covering ground. Noble Desire (SID) wasn’t one of those but he found plenty of traffic in the straight and should have finished a lot closer. He posted the race-best final-200m (11.48) and performed well all things considered. Beluga can settle closer from a better draw and will strip fitter for the run. 

This race didn’t rate well at all. The pace wasn’t very strong and the run home time was rather poor. That said, Scores Of Fun won despite basically being held-up twice in the straight. He has upside and his previous win rated better than this event. Smart Charade closed well but can often produce a big finish off a slow pace. Overall, it’s hard to get too enthusiastic about the race. 

This was very much a race of two halves. Armor Star was well-rated in the lead, had a soft time in that role and clearly peaked late on his run, but the damage was done. He has only been given 5-points for the win, so with a light weight and stepping up in grade he will be hard to beat. However, it’s hard to trust the form too much with the pedestrian tempo and Armor Star himself might be vulnerable in a race where there’s more early pace and pressure.

The pace was genuine and given that fact, it was quite a good win by The Rock. Great Treasure did his usual “run on” thing, and his final-200m (11.10) was astonishing, yet again. His racing style makes it hard for him to win regularly, but he has an amazing turn-of-foot when presented with the right race shape. Chevalier Prince ran on well enough, but might be looking for further now. For the grade, the race rated about where it should.

Winning Dreamer is an exciting prospect and his winning streak is now 3 from 3, but this win didn’t rate as well as his previous efforts. This experience will no doubt help him going forward however. I’m not sure what the ride on Super Commander was?? Very poor judgement was shown to say the least. Sunset Watch ran into the winner at a key stage and cost himself. I think given how much pressure was applied to Winning Dreamer, it was a lot better win than it looked or rated. Those that challenged him finished down the track. Sunset Watch (SID) was unlucky and might be worth following given this was his first start for the new stable. Chicken Dance wil be better for the experience as well, so I expect this to work out well.

This was the best race of the day and the performance of the day was delivered by Excellent Proposal. The pace was solid and Excellent Proposal sat four-wide with no cover the entire race and still drew clear. You don’t see them do that in Hong Kong in Class 2 grade unless they are seriously good. They did back off the tempo mid-race, but it was a very, very good win. Excellent Proposal is the horse to follow and the form out of the race should stack up well.