Dirt handicap featured Saturday at Sha Tin

A relatively rare Saturday card at Sha Tin in Hong Kong has another relative rarity as its feature – a dirt race.

Race 9 is the highest-class fare on Saturday’s 10-race menu, a Class 2 handicap for horses rated 105-80 and carded at 1650 meters (a little more than one mile) on a Sha Tin dirt track still often referred to as all-weather in local parlance. The dirt track gets a steady diet of morning trainees and is used for barrier trials (training races) but is only lightly used for actual afternoon racing.

The feature drew 14 including recent ratings risers People’s Knight and Hang’s Decision, both of whom saw their Hong Kong rating upped six points following last-start wins. At the top of the ratings, however, is a horse named Fight Hero, who was a steady Class 2 sort throughout a very active 2017–18 Hong Kong season.

Fight Hero, a one-run closer, showed up in Hong Kong Jockey Club news this week for another reason as one of 11 Hong Kong horses who were early entrants on the Dubai World Cup card of March 30. Fight Hero was entered in the 1200-meter Golden Shaheen, where he would stand a far, far less chance against the likes of American champion Roy H than he does in the Saturday feature at Sha Tin.

Topping the list of Dubai early entrants is star turf miler Beauty Generation, who was entered in the $6 million Dubai Turf. Whether he makes the trip hasn’t yet been announced or, perhaps, even decided. Trainer John Moore has lobbied for the trip since Beauty Generation smashed his rivals in the Group 1 Hong Kong Mile on Dec. 10, but Beauty Generation’s owners are hesitant to ship the gelding internationally. Stay tuned.