Floral Pegasus can seize Hong Kong Triple Crown

Floral Pegasus takes dead aim at the Hong Kong Triple Crown at Sha Tin on Sunday when he will go off as a strong favorite in the $2omillion Hong Kong Derby.

Victory for Floral Pegasus, an Australian-bred 4-year-old son of Fusaichi Pegasus, in the 1 1/4-mile Group 1 event would make him the first Triple Crown winner in Hong Kong racing history.

Trained by Tony Cruz and to be ridden by Gerald Mosse, Floral Pegasus has already landed the Hong Kong Classic Mile and the Hong Kong Derby Trial. His job Sunday was made all the easier when he drew post 2 in the 14-runner field.

Viva Macau, winner of the Group 3 Prix Daphnis as Dilek when he was trained in France by Alain de Royer-Dupre for the Aga Khan, has finished second to Floral Pegasus in both the Hong Kong Classic Mile and the Derby Trial. Christophe Soumillon flies in from France to take his regular seat aboard the colt, a son of Sendawar trained by John Moore, and they should complete a short-priced exacta.

* Hong Kong will have two runners on Dubai World Cup Night, March 31. Bullish Luck, a Group 1 winner in Hong Kong and Japan and fifth in last year's Dubai Duty Free, will make his first start on dirt for trainer Tony Cruz in the World Cup itself, while Vengeance of Rain, a five-time Group 1 winner at Sha Tin, will go in the Dubai Sheema Classic.