Sha Tin preview, best bets & quaddie | Saturday 24/12/2022
| What | Sha Tin Races |
| Where | Sha Tin Racecourse – Tai Po Rd, Sha Tin District, Hong Kong |
| When | Saturday, December 24, 2022 |
| First Race | 1pm HKT (4pm AEDT) |
We’re racing at Hong Kong this Christmas Eve with a 10-part program out of Sha Tin Racecourse. Zac Purton and Vincent Ho come here after finding six winners between them on Wednesday night at Happy Valley and will be looking to continue their form with another quality book of rides each. We should be racing in perfect conditions on Saturday with a Good 4 track likely and no rain forecast leading in, and we’re racing on the B course throughout for the turf races. The first race is set to get underway at 1pm HKT (4pm AEDT).
Best Bet: Golden Bull
We’ve got to be backing Golden Bull again after his last-start effort at Sha Tin on December 4 when just missing out behind United We Stand by 0.3 lengths. He’s stays in Class 4 after that effort and sticks at the 1200m. He may be looking for further now, but we’re happy to back him again with Zac Purton electing to stay with this son of Tavaci. He was flying home late and just ran out of time as United We Stand left all chasers off the bit late in the piece while this guy was the only one keeping on to the line. He’s drawn an awkward barrier this time from 10 but should be able to find cover somewhere midfield before showing the same electric turn of foot. This is a tougher task with some unknown first-starters looking the key dangers along with Allgreektome and Mulitsuper, but all that means is we could get a better price for Golden Bull with online bookmakers when markets open.
Best Bet
Race 3 – 
#1 Golden Bull (10)
4yo Gelding | T: Danny Shum | J: Zac Purton (61kg)
Next Best: Packing Treadmill
The last race of the card looks like somewhat of a trial for the upcoming Hong Kong four-year-old series with Keefy, Beautyverse and Packing Treadmill all looking to stake their claim. Packing Treadmill has a terrific record of seven starts for five wins and a minor placing and looks to be going even better than last preparation with two wins on the trot this time in — first over the 1200m in Class 3, then stepping up into Class 2 and smashing his rivals over the 1400m. This son of Manhattan Rain now sees his first chance at the 1600m, and based on how he powered to the line on November 27 in the 1400m contest we mentioned, it doesn’t seem like the mile will be a concern. He draws the saloon passage in barrier one and should be nicely rated either in front or just in behind the speed by Hugh Bowman, who picks up the ride as Purton has elected to jump off for Beautyverse. While this is a minor concern, we trust Bowman can get the best out of Packing Treadmill this Saturday.
Next Best
Race 10 – 
#10 Packing Treadmill (1)
4yo Gelding | T: Francis Lui | J: Hugh Bowman (56kg)
Next Best Again: Brilliant Way
Another one we’re keen to be backing on Saturday is the John Size-trained Brilliant Way. He’s second-up after a disappointing first-up effort down the Sha Tin straight over 1000m where he copped a significant check at the 250m marker before picking himself up late to find the line strong to go down 4.5 lengths. He looks a horse that only improves with races under his belt, so going back around a turn, over the 1200m, looks ideal for this son of Reliable Man, who has multiple wins at this track and distance. Zac Purton getting aboard is only a bonus, and despite barrier eight, we think he should find some cover before hitting the line strong again.
Next Best Again
Race 7 – 
#2 Brilliant Way (8)
4yo Gelding | T: John Size | J: Zac Purton (60kg)
Best Value: Smiling Collector
Smiling Collector is a horse that deserves some luck this preparation and doesn’t look far off finding his second career win after a good effort on the all-weather surface last start at Sha Tin. Prior to that, he found nothing but trouble over the 1400m on October 1 and 1200m on November 6, getting bumped and never finding clear running in either race. We look as his all-weather effort as a bit of a barrier trial before getting back on his preferred surface, and we should be seeing the best of this Jimmy Ting-trained gelding now. He’s not the best from the barriers, but if Luke Ferraris can ping and find the one-by-one position, we should be getting a nice price for a horse that should give us a sight.
Best Value
Race 4 – 
#6 Smiling Collector (5)
4yo Gelding | T: Jimmy Ting | J: Luke Ferraris (59kg)
HK Saturday quaddie tips for Sha Tin races
Sha Tin quadrella selections
Saturday, December 24, 2022
- 2-6-7-11-14
- 1-4-5-12-14
- 1-4-8-13
- 3-9-10
Investment: $300 for 100%