January 5 2025, Sha Tin
Unsurprisingly Raging Blizzard (first, race 324) was the standout, having won a competitive Class 2 sprint run at a good pace. His SR of 95.4 (WASR 94.8) was well above standard and points to him being a very classy horse. This looked a good race beforehand and the first four all ran to a high level (third home Copartner Prance especially, so, having come out marginally best on WASRs; he ran to 94.9).
The concluding Class 3 that went to Packing Angel (race 327) was run exceptionally slowly and turned into a real sprint. It threw up one that missed the frame that really caught the eye (see below). Super Legends won again (race 325) but recorded a slow time and may have reached his sealing, while the other races were more or less in line with class averages.
For context, season averages for winners at Sha Tin are:
Class | Speed Rating (SR) | Weight Adjusted Speed Rating (WASR) |
2 | 94.7 | 92.5 |
3 | 92.1 | 90.5 |
4 | 90 | 89.1 |
5 | 88.7 | 87.2 |
Eyecatchers
Light Years Charm (fourth, race 327) was the obvious one today, having returned a lightning sectional when in the clear in a race in which it paid to be on the pace, given it was run at an absolute dawdle before turning into a sprint. He ran 10.45 and 11.11 for the final two 100 m splits (for a finishing speed percentage of 109.5), which was much faster than anything else in the race (next highest 108.1). He had also shown promise on debut when getting rolling late after being stuck in a pocket and ought to strike soon.
Another World (first, race 326) did something extraordinary in winning here. The bare figures (SR 90.7, WASR 89.6) are nothing to get too animated about (albeit a little above average for the class), but he was twice stopped badly inside the final 200 m when coming with a winning run before managing to reengage and somehow quicken again to whoosh a couple of lengths out of the others and snatch it on the line. He has a serious turn of foot and can rate a lot higher.