Our Hong Kong expert Graham Cunningham takes a look at Saturday's card at Sha Tin live on Sky Sports Racing.
J-Mac and Zac in a series of Sha Tin shootouts
How do you follow a HKIR weekend like the one we witnessed last week?
With difficulty is the short answer, but a pre-Christmas Saturday card at Sha Tin serves up a series of intriguing handicaps and a few fair chances to offset heavy present expenses.
7.00: Pok Oi Cup (1200m)
A high draw isn’t ideal over 1200m when the rail is out wide in the C+3 setting but PEJIBAYE has plenty of early speed and James McDonald to steer the ship.
Caspar Fownes’s gelding made all to beat Emblazon with authority over course and distance on his reappearance and gave the impression that he’s still on the up at Happy Valley last month, racing too keenly from a wide gate until worn down close home.
Emblazon is back for another crack, while newcomers Malpensa and Call Me Success have been showing plenty in their morning trials. But Pejibaye looks very fairly treated with the promise of better to come and the fact that Caspar has booked J-Mac for the first time this season looks well worth noting.
8.35: Holly Handicap (1200m)
This Class 3 looks like being a 7-2 the field job – and rightly so – but NEW FUTURE FOLKS and AURORA PATCH appeal as a handy pair against the field.
New Future Folks caught the eye with McDonald aboard for the first time here three weeks ago, coming home strongly to be beaten a neck after being caught in traffic entering the final furlong.
He looks weighted to go very close again granted smoother sailing from a 2lb higher mark, while Aurora Patch has made good strides this season, travelling powerfully when worn down late on the AW last time, and he’s another to have on your side even though gate 11 is higher than ideal.
9.05: Ivy Handicap (1200m)
Patch Of Stars, Invincible Shield and Crimson Flash look the trio to focus on.
Crimson Flash has thrived over the minimum trip and should be suited by this extra 200m, while Patch Of Stars has been raised 6lb for beating Invincible Shield by a neck last month but impressed with the way he sealed the deal that day.
I don't have a strong view on the win market, but this trio all have strong credentials, and a three-way Quinella perm wouldn’t be the worst way of playing the day's feature.
9.40: Spruce Handicap (1400m)
A 5lb rise for a game all-the-way course and distance win could be tough to overcome for Riding Together, but the draw could be just as important as the weights, with several form horses drawn in double digits.
Sky Joy defied gate 14 in likeable style last month and has the outside gate again from a 7lb higher mark, while Master Of All and The Red Hare also line up in fine form, but all three are drawn 11 or higher and history shows that’s not ideal with the rail out wide.
10.15: Poinsettia Handicap (1600m)
A few likely lads for the 2026 Four-Year-Old Series will dominate the market for an intriguing finale – including Fortune Boy and Tin Fook – but most of the interest will centre around Purton and J-Mac aboard Invincible Ibis and Dazzling Fit.
Invincible Ibis has looked well ahead of the handicapper on his last two starts, producing a powerful surge under Zac to score with plenty in hand, while Dazzling Fit defied gate 14 to land a strong Class 3 in courageous fashion under J-Mac last month.
It goes against the grain to desert Dazzling Fit, who’s been a File fixture this year, but INVINCIBLE IBIS is clearly thriving and the step up to a mile looks set to bring about further improvement now he steps up to a mile from a 9lb higher mark.
Sunday's Sha Tin Selections
7.00: Pejibaye
8.35: New Future Folks/Aurora Patch
10.15: Invincible Ibis
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