Our Hong Kong expert Graham Cunningham takes a look at Sunday's card at Sha Tin live on Sky Sports Racing.
Danny doubles up as Harry hits top six
The global stars from Britain, France, Japan and Dubai are jetting in for next week’s FWD Champions Day showdown and the HK aces are ready for them.
Romantic Warrior’s trainer Danny Shum showed his team are in fine form with a Happy Valley treble in midweek, while Harry Bentley moved into the top six of the jockeys’ table with a double for Ka Ying Rising’s handler David Hayes.
Zac Purton and Joao Moreira ended the night with a winner apiece and the Aussie champion needs two more to reach a hundred for the season on a Sha Tin Sunday card that is notable for the presence of a handful of highly progressive handicappers.
Aero set to fly again as Jewellery returns
AEROVOLANIC looms large among the strong improvers and Pierre Ng’s gelding looks one of the bets of the day when he locks horns with the returning Sky Jewellery in a valuable Class 3 at 10.10.
Sky Jewellery was on many a short list for the 2026 Classic Series when bolting up on his final start last season only to miss the big shows because he bled from both nostrils after a November barrier trial.
His recent trials have been satisfactory – though no better - and the prudent John Size feels that “his class will allow him to run well, but normally the horses that have been racing have too much of an advantage.”
And Aerovolanic has been racing impressively of late, bolting up under Purton in Class 4 company then repeating the dose in Class 3 when forging clear of Super Express and subsequent winner Amazing Partners.
Purton feels his progressive partner still needs to settle a little better to maximise his potential, but Wonderstar and Uranus Star should provide a true gallop here.
In short, we are dealing with one horse we know is in great form and another who could be tough to beat if he’s none the worse for a year-long absence. The early market signals favour Aerovolanic - and I hope and suspect those signals are bang on the money.
We are the Robots
Success for Aerovolanic would tip a wink towards fellow Size runner SUPER EXPRESS in the Class 3 sprint at 10.45 and few would begrudge this gelding a win as he’s racked up seven seconds to go with two wins, all the silvers coming at 2-1 or shorter over 1400m.
Another bold effort is on the cards as the Ten Sovereigns gelding tries 1200m for the first time – and his Quinella chances look strong again - but whether Super Express can concede 15lb to the progressive ROBOT LUCKY STAR remains to be seen.
Manfred Man’s gelding made a winning reappearance over 1000m at Sha Tin last October and has caught the eye on a couple of spins over 1200m at the Valley since, enduring torrid trips from an early stage yet coming home strongly for second on each occasion.
The fact that he hasn’t run since November will put some people off – and it looks like Purton has chosen Gold Patch - but the Robot has looked very sharp in two recent trial wins and Andrea Atzeni has picked up a very handy ride for his Class 3 debut.
Gabriel aiming to earn his wings in tough finale
It’s hard to be confident about finding the winner in the other two feature events on Sunday’s card, but the concise summary for the AW sprint at 9.40 and the Class 2 finale at 11.20 reads as follows.
Pi Legend and Moreira head the market for the dirt dash after making the most of Nichola Yuen’s 10lb allowance recently, but that valuable claim comes into play on Romantic Son this time and the reliable Aurora Patch and Blazing Wind also come firmly into the Quinella mix.
The short list for the last race on the card is much longer than ideal, with Stunning Peach back in the right grade after a tile at G2 company and Winning Wing, Patch of Cosmo, Joy of Spring, Sky Heart and Seraph Gabriel all coming into the race in good heart.
David Eustace’s Seraph Gabriel is in danger of becoming a mini cliff horse for me – and stall 14 is a potential headache in a tough field – but this former Royal Ascot runner-up ran a belter for fifth under Zac in a strongly-run Derby last month.
He’s 10lb better off with Purton’s mount Patch Of Theta having finished just a neck behind him that day, while Joy Of Spring will well served by this return to 1800m and, with no disrespect to capable 3lb claimer Ellis Wong, the fact that Moreira hops aboard for the first time from the inside gate gives a broad hint that further improvement is on the cards.
Sunday’s Sha Tin Selections
9.40: Quinella combining 1,3, 5 and 6
10.10: Aerovolanic
10.45: Robot Lucky Star/Super Express
11.20: Quinella combining 2, 4, 8 and 13
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