Eason adapting nicely to Hong Kong circuit

Eason, a 3-year-old Australian import, didn’t require any easing into his Hong Kong racing career.

He was a good second making his debut Dec. 5 and in six starts has never finished worse than second. Eason has won his last two races, proving much too tough for Class 3 handicap competition, and with a good draw and a favorable weight, he easily can win his first start against Class 2 rivals in the featured ninth race Wednesday at Happy Valley.

Eason is one of a dozen entered in a competitive contest carded for 1,200 meters. Post time for the feature is 10:50 a.m. Eastern with first post scheduled for 6:45 a.m. You can catch all the action at DRFBets.com.

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Eason, a gelding by Written Tycoon trained by Frankie Lor, was rated 52 in his debut but now is up to 83 after a nine-point bump from the Hong Kong Jockey Club handicapping department following his April 13 victory. About a month earlier, Eason won a Happy Valley Class 3 over 1,200 meters by 2 1/2 lengths, a wide margin by Hong Kong standards, and even with his weight assignment raised from 120 on that night to 129 last out, Eason proved much the best. Breaking from post 12, Eason, who has rateable speed, was three paths wide with no cover into the turn, and jockey Joao Moreira elected just to go on with things, forging to the lead partway around the bend and easily holding sway through the relatively short Happy Valley homestretch. Moreira is suspended for two cards, leaving the ride Wednesday to Vincent Ho, who will break his mount from post 7. Up in class, Eason carries only 118 pounds, getting as much as 15 pounds from his opponents.

McLucky (post 2, 121 pounds) should be set for major improvement making his second start following a long injury layoff, while Lucky With You will try to transfer sharp Sha Tin form to Happy Valley. Lucky With You was a front-running winner over the winter in a pair of Sha Tin 1,200-meter Class 3 handicaps, and after trying a couple longer races to no good end, he rallied strongly from eighth to capture a 1,200-meter Class 2 April 24 at Sha Tin. Lucky With You carries 126 pounds, including jockey Karis Teetan, as he makes his Happy Valley debut.

Campione won all three of his races as a 2-year-old in Italy and after a fourth place showing in his Hong Kong debut comes into the Wednesday feature on a two-race winning streak. Campione captured a Sha Tin 1,200-meter Class 3 turf race March 27 and was even better winning by 1 1/2 lengths over the Sha Tin dirt course last out. The gelding went wire to wire in both victories and on Wednesday is drawn inside the race’s other primary speed, Voyage Warrior. That could lead to a tricky trip unless Campione is willing to rate behind horses. And even then, he gives nine pounds to streaking Eason, who already is a proven commodity at Happy Valley.