Coby Oppa gets in light in Hin Yiu Handicap

The lightly raced 3-year-old Coby Oppa will have a weight advantage against more experienced rivals in the third race at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong on Wednesday, the first division of the $175,802 Hin Yiu Handicap.

Coby Oppa, trained by Frankie Lor, has won once in three starts since his career began in January, with the victory coming in a handicap at six furlongs on the infield dirt course at Sha Tin on Feb. 10. Wednesday’s Hin Yiu Handicap is run over the same course and distance.

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Coby Oppa, who will be ridden by Karis Teetan, has also run well on turf. He was fourth by three-quarters of a length in his most recent start, a six-furlong handicap at Happy Valley on March 6. An Australian-bred, Coby Oppa has been assigned 117 pounds, 14 less than topweight Encore Boy, who is winless in five starts since the Hong Kong season began in September.

The Australian-breds Winning Supreme and Just Not Listening should ensure a quick pace.

The second division of the Hin Yiu Handicap, the seventh race, has a field of 10 and a pace scenario that could help Joyful Moments, ridden for the first time by former leading rider Joao Moreira. Runners such as Blitzing, Simply Big, and Winner Supreme have ample speed and could create a duel that would leave Joyful Moments well placed in the final quarter-mile.

Joyful Moments, who has been assigned 126 pounds, is winless in six starts in Hong Kong this season. On March 2, Joyful Moments was fifth, beaten 1 3/4 lengths, in a six-furlong handicap on dirt at Sha tin.

The 133-pound highweight is Bear Again, a 4-year-old South African-bred gelding who was 11th in his Hong Kong debut in a turf race at Sha Tin on March 10, his first start in a year. Bear Again was winless in three starts in group races in South Africa in 2017.