After a strange meeting last weekend when top jockeys Zac Purton and Joao Moreira missed Sha Tin after their plane back from Sydney couldn’t land, things should be back to normal on Saturday at Sha Tin as the Hong Kong season settles down properly.
All trainers have now saddled up a winner and nearly all jockeys have a score on the board and the serious players should start to make their usual impact, although Joao Moreira couldn’t be said to have started slowly.
The Brazilian star has 18 wins from 10 meetings and, as usual, has a stunning list of rides this weekend including Circuit Land (race six) and Helen’s Choice (race two).
Saturday’s meeting features a ripping clash between two very promising horses in Packing Pins, trained by Ricky Yiu, and Amazing Kids, backed by the powerful Moreira-John Size team and punters are sure to read something significant into that.
Packing Pins has won his last four starts with Moreira on board but the Brazilian switches to Amazing Kids this time after his super-impressive first-up victory, and Moreira also sticks with Size in the seventh with So Fast, who was talented enough to overcome the straight bias against inside barriers first-up when he won his second from three starts and he will be a short priced favourite to make it three from four.
One of the champion rider’s other key mounts could be Distinct Commander in the opening race. Distinct Commander has plenty of talent and has been racing himself fit again, after a long break with injury, in the hands of new apprentice Kei Chong. The six-year-old looked unlucky last time finishing third for her and Moreira going on is a key change that punters are sure to warm to.
In other jockey news this week in Hong Kong, Matthew Chadwick is likely to be out for two months with serious damage to knee ligaments after being jammed against the side of the starting gates by one of his mounts last week.
By Nathan Mody
