It was a fast track at Sha Tin and the 1000m races continue to deliver slick times. United We Stand won by 5-lengths but was on the grandstand rail and was clearly flattered by this performance. If Moneymore finds a race before the end of the season, I will be happy to follow him as there is a win in this grade for him. 

The pace was fast and it set up nicely for the winner Winning Brew who clearly has a future. Voyage Star was given a really poor ride in front and there was some merit to his effort, with a proper ride on the lead, he might go close next time. However, overall, the race didn’t rate anything special, but clearly, Winning Brew has upside and should be competitive up in grade with a light weight.

Perfect Match returned with ‘blood in the trachea’ and that might explain why he was caught late, as he did seem to have every chance based on the pace of the race. Most of these ran to their mark and the race rated where it should, even off a slow pace.

This race didn’t rate that well, with an even tempo and they didn’t come home that quickly either. Big Luck Champ ran nicely on debut and might have a future, while Lucky Puzzle also hit the line quite well with a 22.50 clocked for his final-400m. The favourite Golden Link probably just doesn’t have the ‘race smarts’ at this point in time but shouldn’t be too far away from winning.

This race rated well and I expect that the form will work out well from it. The main contenders will all be competitive up in Class 3. Clearly the run of the race and horse to follow is Sky Field (SID) who sat three-wide with no cover and off a steady tempo still produced the best final-400m (21.62) at the meeting. He is destined for Class 2. Kinda Cool was a main play (and probably wouldn’t have won anyway), but the fact Moreira copped a suspenion to land one-off in order to keep Kinda Cool locked away in a pocket wasnt ideal. Kinda Cool was held-up, bumped and once again had excuses. 

The first two sectionals were run fast and it set up nicely for those back in the field. From that perspective, Mister Monte boxed on very well but a number of these line up against one another regularly and they seem to take turns winning. 

The pace was only even here and this rated as the worst race on the card, with some solid efforts in behind. Regency Master went to a new level and clearly performed well given the slow pace went against him. He should be competitive next time, while Stunning Impact (SID) just settled too far back off this sedate pace and it was mathematically impossible for him to reel them in.

The pace was steady but this was a big win by Dances With Dragon who has gone to another level since joining Caspar Fownes. Based on this win, he isn’t far off competing against some of the Group 1 gallopers over 2000m. The race did develop into a sprint home but his final-400m (22.14) was the third-best at the meeting so there was plenty of merit in the win. 

The pace was genuine and this race rated well. Fantastic Show was hampered at the start which proved a touch costly in the end. All that said, Good Beauty (SID) was very good indeed. He sat close to a solid pace and only tired late in the event. He may run again before the end of the season and will be worth following.

Note: High Rise Soldier was lame next day and was checked in the run. It was another win to Amazing Chocolate who seems to be going particularly well for Tony Millard. Le Terroir ran well from back in the field and although the race was run to suit, he is much better at Happy Valley and might be one to consider there. 

This race rated reasonably well and the runner-up, Big Fortune, was hampered early but then caught late by the progressive Good Luck Friend who had a perfect run. Biz Power was solid. And Wind N Grass is clearly better ridden cold and he posted some excellent closing sectionals again. He isn’t far from a win…