Hong Kong expert Andrew Hawkins with Placepot advice for Sunday's Sha Tin card

After ten starts, high-priced Circuit Number One looks to finally get a race to suit when he steps out in the opening leg of the Placepot at Sha Tin on Sunday.

Circuit Number One, the year-younger half-brother to Derby winner Wings Of Eagles, remains the highest-priced lot to ever go through the Hong Kong International Sale (HKIS), fetching HK$11 million only months after his sibling’s 2017 win at Epsom.

The Holy Roman Emperor five-year-old never looked a likely type under the Hong Kong system, which places a premium on sprinters and milers with few opportunities for a horse that needs a trip like him.

However, the robust handicapping system also ensures that there is a race for (almost) every horse and the Tony Cruz-trained gelding looks to find that race on Sunday without even dropping into the cellar grade, Class 5.

He gets in light at the weights with Matthew Chadwick to ride and strikes a race with few chances. He maps well behind what should be a solid tempo and goes in for the 8.05, along with the lightly-raced Leap Of Faith.

In the last leg of the Placepot (10.50), it's worth going one-out with Glorious Spectrum, trained by championship-leading handler Ricky Yiu. No number of replay views will ever uncover how he did not manage to win his last start, but he should be around the mark in what looks a fairly strong Class 2 and should be in the placings somewhere.

TOTE PLACEPOT

Leg 1 (8.05) 5, 11
Leg 2 (8.40) 4, 5
Leg 3 (9.10) 5, 7, 8
Leg 4 (9.40) 1, 6
Leg 5 (10.15) 3, 5, 11
Leg 6 (10.50) 2

Sha Tin card

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