Tony Millard looks set to shimmer and shine at Sha Tin
– Tony Millard’s exciting young prospect Shimmer Shine bids to go for back-to-back wins at Sha Tin today when he tackles the artificial surface for the first time.
This son of Showcasing was a convincing winner on his last outing on the turf down the straight course where he issued his challenge on an inferior part of the track.
The lightly-raced galloper stayed on nicely over the 1000m, suggesting he will relish the move up to 1200m for this outing in Race 3, one of eight races scheduled to be run on the artificial surface today.
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The big question is how he will handle this surface. However, prior to making his debut moved stylishly in his barrier trials on this surface and seems to move very well on it.
With title-chasing jockey Zac Purton riding one of the market leaders in Amazing Moment, who incidentally takes a drop in grade, Shimmer And Shine might go out a touch bigger in the market than he rightfully should.
Consequently, he makes plenty of appeal as an Eachway bet. He has the tactical speed to offset a wide draw and with a half decent run, might have a class edge on this field given most are well exposed and on their mark.
Joao Moreira is doing everything he can to hold on to his title this season and his final ride on the card, Remarkable, does look as though it could add to his season’s tally. This big-striding son of More Than Ready is unbeaten on the all-weather this season with three wins from as many starts.
His last victory was far more impressive than the bare margin, having to overcome a slow tempo and rally between runners was actually quite an exceptional performance.
He takes a rise in grade and drops noticeably in weight for this assignment.
He is the horse to beat but there are plenty of admirers of Glorious Artist who will be ridden by rival Zac Purton.
Glorious Artist was a winner on the synthetic overseas and showed his liking for the surface when posting a win over 1800m on this surface.
He drops back to the 1650m, but possesses tactical speed and with natural improvement from his last outing given it was just his third local start.
All-in-all, it should prove to be a fitting final event on the card between two jockeys battling for the title.
From a wagering perspective, Remarkable should be shorter in the market than he will be and he makes a lot of appeal as a straight out Win bet.