Hong Kong races betting preview & best bets | Wednesday, 11/1/23
| What | January Cup Night – Happy Valley Races |
| Where | Happy Valley Racecourse – Wong Nai Chung Rd, Happy Valley, Hong Kong |
| When | Wednesday, January 11, 2023 |
| First Race | 6:45pm HKT (9:45pm AEDT) |
Racing heads back to Happy Valley Racecourse on Wednesday night for a strong nine-race program with the Group 3 January Cup (1800m) the feature event of the evening. Worth HK$3,900,000 it’s a traditional race that sees many form-lines converging, from Group 1 quality from the Hong Kong International races, to many Class 1 and 2 gallopers looking to step up in grade and find a feature race to add on the resume.
We’re on the B course this Wednesday and currently sit on a Good surface heading into the program, however, there does seem to be scattered showers around in the lead up to Wednesday night, so be prepared for a possible downgrade. There were some major upsets at Sha Tin on Sunday, so let’s see if we can get back on track for this meeting scheduled to kick-off at 6:45pm HKT (9:45pm AEDT).
January Cup Best Bet: Money Catcher
We’ve landed with Money Catcher on top in the 1800m feature at Happy Valley on Wednesday night and looks one of the better bets on the card. His form reads excellently for this Group 3 (handicap) and is relatively well weighted with the injection of first-up galloper Glorious Dragon (Who’s not without claims). His last two efforts running in behind Hong Kong superstar Romantic Warrior were terrific despite significant margins in both, first in the Group 2 Jockey Club Cup beaten 2.8 lengths, then in the Hong Kong Cup running third in a 5-length defeat. He was brave on both occasions and prior to that his win in the Group 3 Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse was ultra when making every post a winner. Jockey Silvestre de Sousa will look to do the exact same thing he did in that win, leading throughout from the soft gate behind trying to kick clear of his rivals. While other may be better suited at the weights, we think Money Catcher will prove too strong in the concluding stages.
Best Bet
Race 7 – 
#2 Money Catcher (1)
5yo Gelding | T: Frankie Lor | J: Silvestre de Sousa (57kg)
Happy Valley Best Bet: Whizz Kid
Whizz Kid is absolutely airborne at the moment and we’re happy to be with him in the fourth race on the program in this Class 2 1000m sprint. He just seems to love the tight turning track at Happy Valley with four starts at this track and distance all resulting in wins, so with that in mind despite the fact he’s got to carry 61kg on Wednesday night, we see no reason why his outstanding form can’t continue here. He got lost down that straight at Sha Tin last start going down by 1.8 lengths to race rival Ping Hai Galaxy, but back to his favoured stomping ground, we think Whizz Kid can turn the tables, and it seems leading hoop Zac Purton agrees, as he’s elected to hop back aboard this son of Shalaa. His win two starts back was electrifying and from the wide gate again, we think even if contested in a speed battle, Whizz Kid can ping across to either lead or sit out the leader and find the winners enclosure again to make it five for five at Happy Valley.
Best Bet
Race 4 – 
#1 Whizz Kid (9)
4yo Gelding | T: Tony Cruz | J: Zac Purton (61kg)
Next Best: Howdeepisyourlove
Karis Teetan will be chomping at the bit to be riding Howdeepisyourlove in the last race at Happy Valley, and we think he can finish the program with a winner. In what looks an epic contest to finish the card, we’re siding with this son of Deep Field again after what was a jaw dropping performance in Class 4 company. He ran time on that occasion stopping the clock at 1:09:30 for the 1200m and proceeded to run his rivals into the ground on December 21 from a perfect sit mid-race. He had a few unlucky performances prior to that, including being beaten by Savvy Chic by 2.1 lengths on November 16, who also appears in this race on Wednesday night. They both drop 5kg going up into Class 3 from that performance and look well suited for this company, however, we feel the John Size-trained Howdeepisyourlove has a slight edge on the speed map, and from barrier five should just sit in behind the speed to be pouncing late to score again.
Next Best
Race 9 – 
#10 Howdeepisyourlove (5)
3yo Gelding | T: John Size | J: Karis Teetan (52.5kg)
Best Value: Maldives
We look to the penultimate race on the program to find our best each-way galloper at Happy Valley and we think Maldives looks ready to win after being luckless this preparation. This six-year-old out of Burgundy just hasn’t been able to draw a decent barrier in his five start this time up and never drawing inside barrier-eight, now drawn barrier-six on Wednesday night, we’re hoping they can be more positive than they have been in previous performances. He has a tendency of missing the kick falling back in the field early in races, however, with Winning Dragon and Angus Chung drawn to our outside, we think Maldives and Luke Ferraris can cart across alongside him, finding a spot somewhere mid-field, and provided he can, you’ll be getting a nice price with online bookmakers to find out when markets open.
Next Best
Race 8 – 
#7 Maldives (6)
6yo Gelding | T: David Hall | J: Luke Ferraris (57.5kg)
Wednesday quaddie tips for Happy Valley
Happy Valley quadrella selections
Wednesday, January 12, 2023
- 3-6-7-9-10
- 1-2-11
- 1-6-7-8-12
- 2-10-11
Investment: $225 for 100%