All You Wish, Joyful Trinity among contenders in Kwangtung Handicap
All You Wish and Joyful Trinity ended the 2015-16 Hong Kong season with wins in June and July. When they have their first starts of the 2016-17 season in Sunday’s Kwangtung Handicap at Sha Tin Racecourse, the pair will face two rivals in Helene Super Star and Horse of Fortune with recent group-race form.
The Kwangtung Handicap, run at seven furlongs on turf, is the ninth race on a 10-race program, the second of the season at Sha Tin.
All You Wish, a 7-year-old New Zealand-bred gelding, won a seven-furlong handicap at Sha Tin on July 10. Joyful Trinity, a 4-year-old Irish-bred gelding, was second in his most recent start on July 10 but won handicaps at seven furlongs and a mile at Sha Tin in May and June.
They get a weight break in the Kwangtung Handicap, which drew a field of 12. Horse of Fortune will carry the top weight of 133 pounds, five more than Helene Super Star. Joyful Trinity will carry 124 pounds, one more than All You Wish.
Horse of Fortune was 11th of 13 in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Sha Tin on April 24, a race in which Helene Super Star was last. For both runners, the race was their final starts of the 2015-16 Hong Kong season.
Horse of Fortune won two handicaps at about a mile and 1 1/8 miles on turf in February and March. A 6-year-old gelding, Horse of Fortune has won 4 of 14 starts in Hong Kong.
Helene Super Star won the Group 1 Champions and Chater Cup at 1 1/2 miles on turf in Hong Kong in May 2015 but struggled in the 2015-16 season, going winless in eight starts. During that span, Helene Super Star raced primarily in group stakes. An appearance in Sunday’s handicap will be a drop in class that could reverse recent results.