This race rated about where it should for the grade. It was a nice win on the better part of the track by Joyful Heart and he is easy to get a line on with Nice Fandango in the race. The winner clearly has upside and his final-600m (33.28) was very good so he should be able to go on with the job. 

A reasonbaly solid tempo was set here and Corre Rapido was too good. Hidden Spirit has shown very limited potential but his last couple of runs have been okay and the fact he handles this AWT surface might give him a chance to notch a win. 

This was the worst race of the day. It didn’t rate well and Dragon Dance ($71) winning says enough…….

A relatively even tempo was set here and the race didn’t rate anything special. Both Fine With Me and Winning Controller were negatively ridden from the barriers and ran on quite well, with not much else to report. It’s hard to get too enthusiastic about antyhing out of this race. 

There were clear excuses for the favourite Prince of Gems who ran in to trouble when angling for a run that wasn’t there. E Star at his second career start produced the third-best final-400m (22.48) at the meeting and looks to have more to offer. Yichun Blitz, Craig’s Star and Happy Alumni also might have a future in a race that had some nice prospects and rated okay for the grade. 

A fast first section was set here and then they went progressively slower, but on this surface that isn’t a bad pattern. The blinkers went back on Team Fortune and he clearly responded, so I would be happy to follow him again over the course and distance. 

A soft lead was gifted to Team Spirit and it was no surprise he managed to win. Flying Thunder (SID) makes the file following his effort clocking a meeting-best final-400m (22.12) but was always going to find it hard to win from where he was and after being held-up!! It was some effort. The race overall rated quite well. 

A good tempo was set here and it was a nice win by Kasi Farasi. God Of Dragon, Better Choice and Unicornbaby all ran on well, but were entitled to and for this grade, this race didn’t rate anything special. That said, it was the first local start for Unicornbaby so he might elevate off this rating and be one to consider moving forward. 

A very fast first 1000m was set here. The winner, Waikuku was exceptional given the ease of the win with top weight and this win rated in line with the Classic Cup runners. Waikuku carried more weight on a faster tempo though. He is clearly the horse to beat in the HK Derby this year. That said, Enrichment was very good after  being positioned close enough to that tempo and battling well.

Quite an even tempo here and Right Choice was far too good again. He continues to rate well and can handle a class rise. Good For You and Kiram both made headway without looking like threatening the winner, but the race rated quite well and wil be worth respecting moving forward.