Trainer Mark Newnham is optimistic that Bravehearts can take advantage of favourable handicap conditions and return to winning ways when the Group 1-winning Argentine import contests the HK$3.12 million Class 2 Long Ke Handicap (2000m) at Sha Tin on Saturday, 27 December.
Having claimed victory twice over this course and distance, Bravehearts has gone 11 starts without a win since last season’s corresponding race. Nevertheless, Newnham believes the four-year-old’s light weight of just 115lb will provide an ideal opportunity to recapture his best form.
“He won this race last year, so being low in the weights will suit him,” Newnham said. “He requires a truly run race because of his racing style — he tends to stay at the back — but he’s performing well, and dropping in weight should help. Two starts ago he ran very strongly, and with the smaller field he won’t have as many to get past.”
Bravehearts faces eight opponents: Sword Point (135lb), Lo Rider (124lb), Ka Ying Generation (122lb), Awesome Fluke (119lb), Numbers (117lb), Winning Wing (117lb), Noisy Boy (115lb), and Gentlemen Legacy (115lb).
Frankie Lor, who has amassed 499 wins in Hong Kong, will run Numbers, a four-year-old Classic Series contender. The Tivaci gelding impressed with a third-place finish on debut to Helene Feeling, which was further validated when Helene Feeling dead-heated with Kaholo Angel on 23 December. Rated 82, Numbers previously finished second in the G1 Queensland Derby (2400m) in June under the name King Of Thunder with trainers John O’Shea & Tom Charlton. Derek Leung will ride from barrier four.
Ka Ying Generation, trained by Pierre Ng and jumping from gate three for Luke Ferraris, seeks to improve on a last-start eighth to Sosie in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m) at Sha Tin on 14 December. “He’s maturing nicely, and we need to keep him calm and not ride aggressively,” Ng said. “He carries 122lb, and the smaller field should allow him to deliver his best performance.”
David Hall hopes Magnifique (134lb) can rediscover top form when the talented four-year-old resumes in the Class 3 Sham Chung Handicap (1000m) under James Orman. The Charm Spirit gelding won three of his first four starts but was sidelined after bleeding from both nostrils following a victory at Sha Tin on 5 July. Magnifique has since impressed in trials, most recently winning a 1000m turf barrier trial at Sha Tin on 16 December.
“He’s had time to recover from the bleeding, and now it’s a matter of seeing how he performs under race conditions,” Hall said. “His trial performances have been solid, so we hope he can show his best form once again.”
Saturday’s Sha Tin meeting begins with the Class 4 Wong Chuk Wan Handicap (1400m) at 1pm, promising an afternoon of competitive racing across all levels.
The Sha Tin Race Cards 27 December feature a strong lineup of contenders, including Bravehearts, Numbers, Ka Ying Generation, and Magnifique, promising an exciting day of racing.
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