Country Star likely to stalk pace as 133-pound highweight in Grass Island Handicap

For a 133-pound highweight, Country Star has a few advantages in Wednesday’s $249,708 Grass Island Handicap at Happy Valley Racecourse in Hong Kong.

Country Star will be ridden by Joao Moreira. Combined they have teamed to win two of three starts.

Trained by John Size, Country Star tends to run as a stalker, and that style may work in the Grass Island Handicap at five furlongs on turf. There is likely to be sufficient speed from a rival such as Moment of Power to give Moreira a target on Country Star, who breaks from post 7.

Country Star won consecutive six-furlong handicaps at Happy Valley on Jan. 9 and Jan. 30, with Moreira aboard for both races. A 3-year-old Australian-bred gelding, Country Star finished 11th in his only subsequent start, a six-furlong handicap at Happy Valley on March 6 when ridden by Neil Callan.

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Moreira did not ride on March 6 while serving a two-day suspension for an incident in a race at Sha Tin Racecourse on Feb. 10.

Moment of Power, who will carry 124 pounds, has won two of his last three starts, both in five-furlong races at Happy Valley. Trained by Paul O’Sullivan, Moment of Power was ninth in a five-furlong handicap at Sha Tin in February between those wins.

Moment of Power was assigned 127 pounds, but jockey Jack Wong claims three pounds as an apprentice.

The distance suits the well-named Speedy King, who has won 3 of 10 starts in Hong Kong this season, which began in September. Speedy King was the nose winner of a five-furlong handicap at Sha Tin on May 11 and won a five-furlong handicap at Happy Valley on March 20.

Similar to Country Star, Speedy King is a danger as a stalker, but has drawn post 2, which could create a few traffic issues in a field of 12.