RACING in Hong Kong returns to Happy Valley today with another highly competitive nine-race programme, and finding winners will be at a premium.
The action takes place on the dreaded ‘C +3’ track, where a low draw number and a quick exit from the gates are normally a recipe for success.
Double-figure draw numbers, especially in six-furlong races, have a poor record and runners housed there will need plenty of magic from their pilots to overcome tough journeys.
It is hard not to be impressed by jockey James McDonald since he joined the jockey ranks in the city on a short-term contract a couple of weeks ago.
The Kiwi-born rider, officially named the 2024 LONGINES World’s Best Jockey, has already wowed the local racing enthusiasts this week with his skill and drive since jumping into the saddle earlier this month.
From only three race meetings, J-Mac has booted home half a dozen winners from just 24 rides, and already has the local trainers clamouring for his services.
The McDonald and trainer Danny Shum partnership, having already scaled the heights with legendary champion Romantic Warrior, are looking a lethal combination to follow with a couple of wins in the past 10 days.
McDonald and Shum team up three times at the city track, and it would be brave to think they will come away empty-handed.
Former course and distance winner THE PERFECT MATCH looks to have found a suitable opportunity to get his short career back on track when he lines up in the St Andrew’s Challenge Quaich (12.40pm), a handicap over six furlongs.
The New Zealand-bred galloper was short of peak fitness when returning from his summer break and needed both his two runs to get him back into mint condition.
His recent track work gallops suggest he is now firing on all cylinders, and with an all-important low draw in stall two in his favour, he can bounce back to form against average opposition.
Stable companion LIGHTNING BOLT is another suggesting a return to form is on the cards when he takes his chance in division two of the Edinburgh Handicap (1.45pm) over six furlongs.
The son of Acclamation, a four-time winner in Hong Kong, has been in the doldrums for some time and has tested trainer Shum’s patience and skill to get him back into top form.
There was a lot to like, however, about his encouraging effort when fourth on the all-weather surface in October, and he backed that up with an impressive turf trial earlier this month.
Having finished in the places from a 24-pound higher mark in better company just under a year ago, his chance is obvious if returning to that form, and with a favourable draw in gate three a plus, he will never get a better chance of returning to the winners’ circle.
There is no doubt fast-improving Eternal Fortune could give McDonald and Shum a treble in the Loch Lomond Handicap (2.15pm) over five furlongs, but the ‘coffin box’ draw of 12 tempers any enthusiasm.
POINTERS
The Perfect Match 12.40pm Happy Valley
Lightning Bolt 1.45pm Happy Valley