Adventurer stands out in Lukfook Jewellery Cup

Adventurer has been in the sharpest form of his career in recent months, winning two of three starts at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong since early September.

The success is a continuation of Adventurer’s 2015-16 season, when the gelding won his final start of the campaign last May. All the success will make Adventurer the focus for many bettors in Saturday’s $225,498 Lukfook Jewellery Cup at five furlongs on turf at Sha Tin Racecourse.

The Lukfook Cup is the richest race on a 10-race program that begins at 1 a.m., Eastern on Saturday, or 10 p.m., Pacific on Friday.

All three of Adventurer’s recent wins have been at five furlongs on turf. In his last start Oct. 16, Adventurer led throughout and won a 14-runner race by a half-length. Adventurer typically shows speed and is likely to set the pace under Joao Moreira, who is the runaway leader in the Hong Kong jockey standings.

Adventurer will carry 128 pounds and has a familiar rival in Bad Boy, the 133-pound topweight. Bad Boy was second to Adventurer on Oct. 16. Bad Boy returned to finish seventh in a handicap at six furlongs Nov. 20, setting the pace before fading.

Archippus, Most Beautiful, and Sangria are other contenders. Archippus won a six-furlong handicap on the all-weather track at Sha Tin on Dec. 4, his only win this season. Most Beautiful, from Australia, and Sangria, who previously raced in France, will have their first starts in Hong Kong on Saturday.

Most Beautiful was a multiple stakes winner in Australia in 2015, when he won 4 of 12 starts while racing as London Line. Sangria won the listed Prix Yacowlef in Deauville, France, in 2015 while racing under the name Money Maker.