Racing Chat - Sunday March 29th

[BillyHills]

Some US Racing later on if your bored?

Tips up for Gulfstream and Tampa Bay

Best Bets

610 TB: Power Walker
803 GP: Bean Counter
820 TB: Demanding
939 GP: Faraway Kitten

1pt Lucky 15

 

[Trotter]

I had a look at the various countries that are still racing and I think Hong Kong may be the best one to concentrate on as there's regular meetings and it doesn't look 'alien' to UK punters. I can't make head nor tail of all the Claiming Races in the US !

HK seem to race every Sunday and Wednesday, there's only 3 tracks but but only 2 tracks are racing during April

There are 9 meetings in April

The races appear to follow a similar structure to the UK and Ireland with some Group Races and lots of Handicaps. The horses have Official Ratings which helps a lot ........ and the Racing Post carries the form in a format that we're used to

Here's the April fixture list 

https://racing.hkjc.com/racing/information/English/Racing/Fixture.aspx?CalYear=2020&CalMonth=04

 

[LeMale]

2148 Golden Gate Fields 1m 6 runners.

I've been looking at this race all morning and like a few of you on here(i think...maybe its just me!) i'm struggling with how US racing works. Just watched the last 8f race the fav was in and it seemed to far, had nothing in home straight. 2nd fav also has never won at distance, but is dropping in class...i think... 3rd fav may also be dropping in class but seems very out of form. Not for one second am i saying these three can't win but in a 6 horse race the in form Yantze River (my nap in nap comp.) is 16-1 and under a new trainer Zelaia is 100-1!!!(and has won at dist. with form 2214) Reiwa is the only horse left @ 5-1 and also stands a chance in this very open race imo. I've already had a lady on my nap but a couple of quid, even ew, on Zelaia @ 100-1 PP has to be worth a tickle, doesn't it?

[Land Afar]

With respect to the Hong Kong racing, there are only the two tracks, Happy Valley and Sha Tin. There is a training track in China where some horses are stabled from time to time. The post upthread may be referring to the track at Macau, which is run by a different group and generally poor quality racing.

The season runs from Sept to June, typically Happy Valley is Wednesday nights and Sha Tin Sunday afternoons (although on a few occasions these are changed ie this Wednesday nights meeting on the dirt at Sha Tin).

Horses are brought in from around the world and most of the time they are renamed by the new owners..

Its a very well run system horses are weighed for the declaration stage (unlike the UK).

The overseas pundits are excellent in giving valid information. Jenny's longshot today won at 16/1...(How Jo Moreira was on a 16/1 shot  god knows as he rode 4 winners there today in the previous races bring his total to 901 in 7 years). Prior to him riding in Hong Kong, he was racing in Singapore, and had a similar level or winners.

Its easy to understand, for me in the UK, for backing favorites I take the UK price, all others where possible I use the Aussie tote systems, prices tend to be bigger. One can bet place only if required..

When i was working in Asia, it was great to go out for some decent day/night racing there. Totally recommend it to anyone...

Hope this helps....enjoy

 

 

[BillyHills]

Welcome to PL mate, thanks for the info

Feel free to post some tips @Land Afar

[Trotter]

Thanks Land Afar...... that's sets the scene nicely !

The other track referred to on the fixture list link is Conghua ...... along with HV and ST it's listed along the bottom of the fixtures

 

[Land Afar]

Thanks for the Welcome BillyHills,

Typically I only bet in the last 5 mins before the off, and Im not good at tipping...sorry about that..

The best advice I can give is to watch as its on ATR, then listen to what the overseas pundits say, they go into far more detail about each horse and try to predict the run of the race, highlighting potential winners..

The handicap system does tend to lead to many tight finishes, exciting stuff (if your selection is involved). Some horse do follow the old saying horses for courses and are better at either Happy Valley or Sha Tin.

Many people suggest that races 1200M upwards there is a significant draw bias for low numbers. In some ways this is true, but with a clever jockey and a horse that is fast out of the stalls, this can be overcome. Races of 1000M are of the straight courses at both Happy Valley and Sha Tin, where higher draw numbers tend to have the edge..

I think the last time I visited Happy Valley in 2013, it cost $10HK to enter, approx £1..Fantastic place to go for  night racing under the flood lights, and Ive been racing in Singapore, South Korea, France, Germany, Czech Republic and Canada...all while travelling for work..Yes I know how lucky I am..

[Land Afar]

Mr Trotter, thats the training track in Shenzen China, its quite new and as far as I know used mainly for trialing.

The Mainland Chinese Government are looking into allowing racing but...I dont see it being a betting option in the new few years..

Stick with Happy Valley and Sha Tin, you will enjoy..Next Sunday theres a couple of G1's at Sha Tin..Ante Post prices are available with some UK sites.. 

 

Happy Punting..

The other track referred to on the fixture list link is Conghua