Focus Asia
Hong Kong’s young guns misfired but Panfield boosted his prospects
It was a case of more questions than answers after the Group 2 action at Sha Tin on Sunday. Lucky Patch’s (El Roca) win in the Premier Bowl Handicap (Gr 2, 1200m) seemed to scotch the notion that the sprint division’s elite echelon is on the cusp of reinvigoration, while the stamina-laden stallion prospect Panfield... Read More
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The Inferno’s Everest quest spreads some needed feelgood Singapore’s way
Singapore has a big Saturday in store. The Queen Elizabeth II Cup (Listed, 1800m) is this weekend’s local highlight, drawing together the best the Lion City can muster, but 4,000 miles along a south-easterly flight path, Kranji’s most exciting galloper of recent times will step out for The Everest (1200m) at Randwick carrying the keen... Read More
Sprinters are shaping up for a worthy Sha Tin showdown
Pixie Knight (Maurice) emerged as the new star on Japan’s sprinting block with an impressive performance in the Sprinters Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) at Nakayama on Sunday that could well see him pointed towards Sha Tin to shake-up the Hong Kong contingent on the second Sunday in December. Trainer Hidetaka Otanashi is believed to be... Read More
Chrono Genesis ticks the Arc boxes for Murphy and Saito
Oisín Murphy is confident that Chrono Genesis (Bago), the mare he considers to be “the best middle-distance horse in Japan,” has the attributes needed to rattle the Europeans in Sunday’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Gr 1, 2400m) at Longchamp. The five-year-old’s trainer Takashi Saito shares his big-race jockey’s positivity and told Asia Bloodstock News... Read More
Broader implications as the HKJC buys American again
The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s (HKJC) purchase of a Medaglia D’Oro (El Prado) colt at Keeneland’s September Yearling Sale late last week ended a nine-year absence from the North American market and signalled a tweak to its buying strategy that has implications beyond the immediate concern of its quirky Hong Kong International Sale (HKIS). The... Read More
Four for Shinn as Hayes provides but challenges remain
The afternoon after he rode his way to four wins at Sha Tin, Blake Shinn pondered the possible implications for the season ahead as he took time to allow his body to recover from the rigours of riding at the very base of what might be deemed – in the context of being a jockey,... Read More