Hong Kong Preview & Best Bets – Wednesday November 16

Hong Kong Tips 16/11/2022

Our form expert provides Hong Kong tips for tonight’s horse racing at Happy Valley Racecourse and gives his best bets.

BEST BET 🏆

Race 7:  No.4  EXCELLENT PEERS  ($3.40 with Palmerbet)

The Frankie Lor-trained EXCELLENT PEERS has returned from the 2021-22 season break with a boom and looks all set here to continue on his winning way. Last start, the Jimmy Choux gelding went one better than his first-up second when he took out the Class 3 Longines Cup, here over 1200m. Setting a new personal best that night, he ran the trip, 5.5 lengths quicker than benchmark, the best in this field. Matt Chadwick sticks with him tonight where his eight starts at the track and trip have produced three wins and three runner-up finishes. Even fitter tonight from two runs back, he will take beating here.

NEXT BEST 🥈

Race 9:  No.5  COMET SPLENDIDO  ($3.90 with Palmerbet)

Danny Shum saddles-up COMET SPLENDIDO here who is shooting for back-to-back victories tonight. Last start, War Command gelding was our ‘Best Bet’ of the night and he didn’t disappoint when he took out the Class 3 event over the 1650m trip with Zac Purton on board. He ran his last 600m, 6.1 lengths quicker than benchmark, the best in this line-up. Ideally drawn in gate four tonight, there’s no Zac Purton (due to coming down with Covid) so fellow Aussie rider Jye McNeil is filling in for his first ride on the four-year-old. Et to miss a podium finish in four starts at the track, he looks set to give this a real shake tonight.

BEST VALUE 💰 

Race 8:  No.7  FA FA  ($5 with Ladbrokes)

Another from the Frankie Lor stables is FA FA who is third-up tonight and poised to strike. Last start, the five-year-old came off a podium finish when resuming and wasn’t disgraced when finishing just behind the placegetters in a Class 2 Hcp, here over tonight’s journey. In a slowly-run affair, he still managed to run it out, 5.1 lengths quicker than benchmark, just 1 length slower than stablemate, Everyone’s Delight recorded when finishing second in that same race. He gets the gun-run here in gate one (while Everyone’s Delight has come up with the outside gate), and doing no early work, he maps to settle mid-field with cover. Already a winner when third-up and boasting track specialist status with six wins from his 10 starts here, a clear run to line should see him as a genuine threat to this field tonight.