Brazil set to silence the Piper at Aintree April 6, 2022 PLENTY predicted another Irish whitewash at this year’s Cheltenham Festival but luckily the home team held their own until the last day at least. That said, one division where the Irish appear to hold all the aces is the juveniles with dominant performances in both the Triumph Hurdle and the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle. Irish-trained horses [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Size to regain the Winning feeling in Champion Trainer race April 5, 2022 MULTIPLE-TIME Champion Trainer John Size has suddenly found his quest for another title seriously under threat from his very own ‘sorcerer’s apprentice’ Frankie Lor, a former assistant to Size before taking out a trainers’ licence. Both are tied on 61 winners each and with around a third of the season remaining it will be interesting [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Moreira can make Sure of Joyful day for his supporters April 5, 2022 EXPECT the ‘Magic Man’ Joao Moreira to be sitting at the top of the Jockeys’ Championship table when the dust settles after a nine-race programme at Happy Valley today. Moreira is currently in a ding-dong battle with his arch-rival Zac Purton at the top of the leaderboard and trails the former four-time champion by just [...]
EP: 122 Ayr, Newbury & Hong Kong April 1, 2022 The Scottish Grand National & Scottish Champion Hurdle are two of the highlights at Ayr on Saturday, while the veteran chasers line up under conditional jockeys at Newbury on the same afternoon. Trainer Michael Scudamore sends a couple of runners to Ayr on Saturday and he joins us today to discuss their chances. City A.M. [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Throw out the formbook and chance well drawn Blissful Star March 29, 2022 FORMBOOK students will tell you the second division of the Hap Mun Bay Handicap (2.45pm) over six furlongs is a match between the Zac Purton-ridden Thunderstrike and Joao Moreira’s mount Fiery Diamond. Both jockeys are riding at their peak of their powers at present, with Purton currently leading his arch-rival by 95 winners to 92 [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Lightning can strike twice for Majestic Shum and Teetan March 29, 2022 PUNTERS didn’t find it easy at Sha Tin last Sunday when three out of four odds-on favourites were sunk, leaving the majority of multiple and exotic wagers consigned to the litterbins and bettors left stony-faced. It’s likely not to get any easier today with Sha Tin hosting an eight-race programme on the all-weather surface, something [...]
Opinion: Crypto brands’ sporting land-grab is only just beginning March 29, 2022 As Lionel Messi and Fifa become the latest to do huge deals with cryptocurrency and blockchain-related brands, sports sponsorship expert Henry Nash of Octagon assesses the major new player in the market. I suspect I wasn’t alone in thinking the Nielsen 2022 Global Sports Marketing Report would be a story of Covid’s brutal impact on [...]
EP: 121 Dubai, Doncaster, Kelso & Hong Kong March 25, 2022 There’s a really good mix of racing to look forward to this weekend as the new flat racing season gets underway in the UK. The Lincoln Handicap is the feature race at Doncaster on Saturday, plus it’s a magical night of racing at Meydan racecourse where the Dubai World Cup features a host of international [...]
Life is definitely Good for Dubai favourite backers March 24, 2022 Bill Esdaile’s Dubai World Cup 1-2-3: 1. Life Is Good 2. Hot Rod Charlie 3. Chuwa Wizard WHILE it may no longer be the world’s richest race, the Dubai World Cup (4.30pm) is still a huge draw, and this looks a top-class renewal of the £8.8 million spectacle at Meydan. Form from the best middle [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Charm can give consistent Lui another Win at the Valley March 23, 2022 TRAINER Francis Lui’s stable has been a model of consistency in Hong Kong this season, and with 40 winners already on the scoresheet, he currently sits fourth in the trainers’ championship table. Lui has visited the winners’ circle on a regular basis over the past few weeks, with four winners at the last three meetings, [...]