Dark Dream well prepped for Hong Kong Classic Mile

The stakes-winning form that Dark Dream had at the end of his Australian career last spring seems to be continuing in Hong Kong this winter.

Dark Dream won the Group 1 Queensland Derby at 1 3/8 miles on turf at Doomben Racecourse last June in his final start in Australia. Now trained by Frankie Lor, Dark Dream was third in his debut in Hong Kong in a handicap at a mile on turf at Sha Tin Racecourse on Dec. 9 and rebounded two weeks later to win a minor handicap at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Sha Tin.

Those races were designed to prepare Dark Dream for Sunday’s $1.27 million Hong Kong Classic Mile for 4-year-olds at Sha Tin. The Classic Mile is the first of three races in the 4-year-old classic series at Sha Tin, which continues with the $1.27 million Hong Kong Classic Cup at 1 1/8 miles on Feb. 17 and the $2.29 million Hong Kong Derby at 1 1/4 miles on March 17.

Dark Dream is the highest-rated runner in a field of 12 in the Hong Kong Classic Mile and will be ridden by Silvestre de Sousa, who was aboard for the win on Dec. 23. Dark Dream is a threat from off the pace from post 12 in the one-turn race.

The New Zealand-bred geldings Easy Go Easy Win and Furore are well suited to the distance, having finished second and third in a minor handicap at a mile at Sha Tin on Jan. 6. They both tend to run closer to the pace than Dark Dream.

Furore, trained by Lor, will be ridden by Hugh Bowman, the regular rider of the Australian superstar mare Winx. Bowman and top French jockey Pierre-Charles Boudot have been given one-day licenses to ride Sunday’s program. Boudot is booked to ride Charity Go, who was stakes-placed in England last year but is winless in three starts in Hong Kong since mid-November.

Ka Ying Star and Mr So and So are two other notable runners. Ka Ying Star won three minor races in England last year under the name Urban Aspect. Horses frequently have their names changed when transferred to Hong Kong.

Ka Ying Star won his debut in Hong Kong, a rarity for imports, in a 29-1 shocker in a minor handicap at a mile at Sha Tin on Jan. 6.

Mr So and So has won his last two starts in seven-furlong handicaps at Sha Tin, both in December, and will be ridden by former Hong Kong leading rider Joao Moreira, who has won with seven of his last 26 mounts in the three most recent days of racing in Hong Kong.

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Sunday’s 10-race program includes a strong running of the Group 3 Centenary Vase at 1 1/8 miles on turf, the race preceding the Hong Kong Classic Mile. The Centenary Vase is led by Exultant and Glorious Forever, who won Group 1 races against international fields at Sha Tin on Dec. 9.

Glorious Forever won the $3.58 million Hong Kong Cup at 1 1/4 miles, the richest race in Hong Kong in 2018. Exultant won the $2.55 million Hong Kong Vase at 1 1/2 miles.

Under the handicap conditions of the $414,250 Centenary Vase, Exultant, a 5-year-old gelding trained by Tony Cruz, will carry 132 pounds, one more than Glorious Forever, a 5-year-old gelding trained by Lor. Time Warp, a 6-year-old gelding who is a full-brother to Glorious Forever, is the 133-pound highweight.

Time Warp, trained by Cruz, was third in the Hong Kong Cup and later fourth as the 3-1 favorite in the Group 3 January Cup at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Sha Tin on Jan. 9. Time Warp, best known for winning the 2017 Hong Kong Cup, set the pace in the January Cup but faded to finish 1 1/2 lengths behind Simply Brilliant.

Time Warp is expected to set the pace in the Centenary Vase but could face a challenge from Glorious Forever. Exultant, who races from off the pace, will be the beneficiary if a speed duel develops.