Leung Ho Yin, Simon's Bio
Simon is a well respected full-time thoroughbred racing commentator specializing in overseas international racing. Bringing with him a wealth of racing knowledge, Simon is the host and race caller for the overseas simulcast programme since 2008/09 season. He is currently the presenter on several racing television programmes including, ‘Racing Horizon’ and ‘Horse Racing – Results’.

Kranji Racecourse – Track Analysis (Singapore Gold Cup Day):

Though being a level and spacious track, the Kranji Racecourse features two separate, left-handed far turns – the Short Course and the Long Course – which the former is in use for the Singapore Gold Cup Day this weekend.

For the featured 2000m Singapore Gold Cup and the Kranji Stakes C, the first turn is set out just merely 200m after the break, thus outside-drawn runners, should they fail to save ground or sought for cover, would easily get floated wide into that turn. In the 2017 running of the Singapore Gold Cup, when the turf was listed as good, the eventual tierce – GILT COMPLEX, BAHANA and ELITE EXCALIBUR were all sitting just off the main pace early, in particular GILT COMPLEX and BAHANA that were actually hounding the leader, and together with ELITE EXCALIBUR, in the clear for most of the trip, the three fought it out down the stretch in a thriller.

For the rest of the undercard, two Class 3 Handicap contests at 1200m will see the field travel through 400m of the backside before hitting the only turn, and outside-drawn runners, though having to slightly angle in, still have plenty of time to find their choice spots. While from the 1600m barrier, where starters for both the Hong Kong Jockey Club Trophy and another Class 4 Handicap will break from, they will even have an extended 800m of that stretch before reaching the same far turn, and stall assignments bear even less importance. With all that said, forwardly-placed runners do generally dominate over the Short Course at Kranji, especially if the going is good to firm.

With incessant precipitation – and occasional thunderstorms – that looks to extend towards Sunday, Kranji would probably be stocked with a wet, sticky strip on deck. Should the weather improves just in time, forwardly-placed runners would still continue to own the competition, particularly at sprints; yet if the rain persists, and the track does deteriorate in shape, deep closers may turn the table.

Disclaimer:
The above content and information are the personal views and/or opinions of each individual writer and do not represent the views of The Hong Kong Jockey Club and/or its subsidiaries (together, the "HKJC"). The content and information are provided by the writers solely for entertainment purpose only, and should not be construed as a suggestion for anyone to place any bet nor should they be taken and/or relied upon as advice of any kind. The above content and information have not been verified, confirmed and/or endorsed by HKJC and HKJC shall not be liable to any person for any loss or damage suffered by such person as a result of any use or reliance of the above content or information.

HKJC shall not be required to give and does not give any warranty, whether express or implied, arising out of or in connection with the content or information. The Club disclaims any responsibility and accepts no liability (whether in tort, contract or otherwise) for any direct or indirect loss of damage arising from any inaccuracies, omission or typographical errors that may be contained therein. The Club also does not warrant the accuracy, completeness, timeliness or fitness for purpose of any such information.