The ratings for this Sundays 10-race card at Sha Tin can be found below. As you can see from the time comparisons and the ratings there was a mixed bag of performances and as you might expect at such an early stage of the season, there were a large number of horses who shaped like they would improve for the benefit of todays outing.
The feature race was the Class 2 Causeway Bay Handicap which was Race 3 on the card. This race was won by Kurpany, who had been highlighted on this blog a few weeks ago after he won a Barrier trial in a fast time at Conghua. He confirmed the strength of that form and what it had shown us about his fitness by making all to win this sprint contest. This was a first win at the minimum trip for Caspar Fownes 6-year-old, but he had shown promise in the past at 1,000 meters and his form figures at this distance now stand at 1 win and 3 placings from 5 starts. This race was won at the start, as he broke quickly to get to the front, running the first 3-furlongs in splits of 13.12 and 20.75s which left him with enough in hand to hold on despite changing his legs inside the final furlong and running the slowest final split of the entire field. He is a nice type, but I do wonder if the benefit of early season fitness has helped him to get an edge on his rivals and he may be worth opposing next time after a rise for this win.
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