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, ‘Banker’, ‘Racing Horizon’ and ‘Horse Racing – Results’.

Hanshin Racecourse – Track Analysis (Osaka Hai):

With its short stretches and protracted bends, runners at Hanshin Racecourse, while heading for home, will race downhill until the 200m marker, where the turf strip tucks right back up all the way to the finish. Therefore, frontrunners will need more than a gargantuan trip to wire it home the whole way through. That being said, with this same stretch run measuring only 350m from the top of the lane to the finish, late closers may run out of ground if they don't make their moves by midway through the stretch.

For the 2000m Osaka Hai, runners will have a 600m stretch run before hitting the first turn, thus stall assignments rate only minimal. And with another 700m of back-straight before hitting another sweeping 600m bend (inner course), runners attempting a wide move would hardly lose any balance.

In the 2018 running of the Osaka Hai, SUAVE RICHARD, who only had one horse beaten through the early markers, made an eye-catching move – circling the entire field almost from last-to-first – on the far side of the course, took command at the top of the lane, and never relinquished it for a spectacular score, while PERSIAN KNIGHT, likewise from off the pace, was gaining from out wide to check in second, and AL AIN, though laying just off the pace for most of the trip, could only manage to sneak up the rail for third.

With fair skies – and minimal chance of rain – heading into the weekend for the Osaka area, this year's edition of the Osaka Hai will be staged on fast and firm goings – a big plus that is so poised for the forwardly-placed runners when it comes to race selections.

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