California Whip top-rated in Panasonic Cup Handicap

California Whip and Jolly Banner are top-rated while Little Giant is the big mover on ratings in the featured Panasonic Cup Handicap on Saturday at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong.

The Panasonic Cup, a Class 1 for horses rated between 110 and 85 by the Hong Kong handicapper, is a 1400-meter race around one bend. It’s the eighth of 10 races with post time scheduled for 3:35 a.m. Eastern.

California Whip, top-rated at 109, gives between 2 and 15 pounds to 13 rivals while dropping in class from two group stakes to start his 2018 – 2019 Hong Kong season. California Whip won the Group 3 Premier Bowl in his final start last year, in a race, like Saturday’s, over 1400 meters at Sha Tin.

Jolly Banner, rated 107, at 7 is two years California Whip’s senior and has both less upside and lesser recent peak performances, though he, too, has excelled at 1400-meter races at Sha Tin.

The Panasonic Cup’s distance is a question Little Giant has yet to answer – that and whether he can remain sound for an extended campaign. Twice Little Giant, a 6-year-old New Zealand import, has been scratched lame from Hong Kong races, most recently from an intended start in November 2017.

Little Giant didn’t race again until Oct. 1, when he comfortably won a Sha Tin Class 2 over 1200 meters, a victory that brought about a nine-point ratings jump. Little Giant has three wins and a third from his four starts, but races the strongest group he’s yet met in Hong Kong, though he does get seven pounds from California Whip.