Hong Kong racing tips: Jim McGrath with three selections at Sha Tin on Sunday

Fit For Beauty
7.00am Sha Tin
2pts win

Sing Dragon
8.40am Sha Tin
2pts win

Ka Ying Attack
9.50am Sha Tin
2pts win

The Mark Newnham-trained Sing Dragon can lead home a contingent of dirt specialists on a ten-race Sha Tin card specifically drawn up to minimise wear and tear to the turf track as the HKIR showcase meeting approaches.

There are five races on the C+3 course, which means the inside turf can be saved for the features on December 14, while the other five races will be run on the all-weather surface.

Sing Dragon has the typical profile of a horse with expertise on dirt.  Although he won two races on turf for Chris Waller in Sydney, his record in Hong Kong is 5-22, with all his wins being on the all-weather.

Four of those victories were over the 6f he tackles in the Class 2 sprint handicap (8.40), with Karis Teetan riding, while another course-and-distance specialist Capital Delight appears his main danger. 

Several trainers are testing the water. Bottomuptogether, Invincible Shield, Gorgeous Win and Swift Ascend are unknowns on the dirt track but all have plenty of class and the likelihood is that one or two will cope well.

Of special interest is the Manfred Man-trained Self Improvement, who was a noteworthy overseas winner for Hong Kong when winning a Group 3 6f sprint on a sand track in Seoul in September.  But he paid a heavy price for that moment of glory and has gone up 14lb in the ratings.

James McDonald, recently crowned the world’s best jockey a third time, rides the good thing on the card, the John Size-trained Fit For Beauty, who looks to make it back-to-back wins in the Class 4 7f handicap (7.00).

The New Zealand import has gone up 7lb for a recent course-and-distance win on only his third outing, but he won with authority and still appears ahead of the handicapper. Zac Purton’s mount With A Smile will appreciate the step back up to 7f and is next best.

The ‘Ka Ying’ prefix is going to feature in many headlines in the coming week – Ka Ying Rising will be an unbackable favourite in the Hong Kong Sprint – but at a lower level, the David Hall-trained Ka Ying Attack can overcome another wide draw (13) to land the finale, the Class 3 7f handicap (9.50).

Sha Tin Placepot perm

7.00
2 With A Smile
3 Fit For Beauty

7.35
5 We Are Hero
7 Fast Responder

8.05
8 Ka Ying Resilience
10 Jolly Companion

8.40
4 Capital Delight
6 Sing Dragon

9.15
1 New Forest
3 Loch Tay

9.50
1 Little Paradise
4 Ka Ying Attack

2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 = 64 lines

Bets can be placed into Hong Kong pools with the Tote. The first race at Sha Tin on Sunday is at 5am

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