Hong Kong title races going down to the wire

Luke Middlebrook
It's far from clear cut which trainer and jockey will be crowned Hong Kong champions come season’s end on Saturday, 16 July, with Frankie Lor and John Size battling for the champion trainer title while Zac Purton and Joao Moreira fight out champion jockey contest.
Moreira boasts a full-book of nine rides on Wednesday at Happy Valley, while Purton takes eight. Lor sends out seven runners to Size’s six and while they might not be the standouts in their respective races, they all look solid each-way chances.
One of Moreira’s top chances on the night comes up in race 8 when he remains in the saddle of progressive four-year-old RISING FROM ASHES, who vies for two wins on end in the Class 3 1200m Handicap.
The Francis Lui-trained gelding took a few runs to get going locally but turned in an improved performance fourth-up when surprising for third at 33-1, beaten three lengths in a 1000m Handicap at the city circuit.
Proving that run no fluke, RISING FROM ASHES went one place better at his next start when runner-up in a 1200m contest, beaten just a neck. Last start, when drawn perfectly in barrier 1, the stars aligned for RISING FROM ASHES as endured a prefect run in transit under Moreira and put paid on the runner-up by a healthy 2.5 lengths.
Now that the penny has dropped for RISING FROM ASHES, he looks on song to head higher in the handicap. Lyrical Motion is one who can improve on his last-start failure on a yielding track while Purton’s mount, The Runner, is well placed down in class. Classic Posh will relish an inside drawn and can finish strongly late.
Francis Lui’s chances on the night don’t end there and he has a good chance to claim the final race of the card with consistent four-year-old STOLTZ in the Class 2 1000m Handicap.
STOLTZ has done little wrong in his eight-start Hong Kong career, winning on three occasions as well as finishing runner-up just as many times. The two times he has failed has been when he has stepped up to 1200m, which seems a furlong too far at this stage of his career.
The gelding returns to the races this week first-up off a 70-day break, after he was last seen winning well at this track and distance as the race favourite.
STOLTZ put away a handy Class 2 field that night, beating the likes of talented sprinters NERVOUS WITNESS and VOYAGE WARRIOR. Taking out a recent trial in strong fashion on 24 June, STOLTZ appears primed for a big return to the races.
Of course, Class 2s are some of the hardest races to win in Hong Kong, and the likes of Handsome Bo Bo (barrier 1) can give this a shake second-up while Lor’s pair of runners, Run Run Cool and We The South, deserve plenty of respect.
Size’s entrant, Special M, is ultra-consistent around the 1000m but doesn’t boast the strongest of winning strike rates.

Luke Middlebrook’s Selections:
Race 1: 1-5-2-11
Race 2: 6-1-5-7
Race 3: 1-8-2-6
Race 4: 2-4-3-9
Race 5: 3-6-1-10
Race 6: 8-2-7-1
Race 7: 8-4-12-10
Race 8: 4-12-1-6
Race 9: 1-2-12-10