Ho Ho Khan prevails in Queen Mother Memorial Cup

Ho Ho Khan, fifth in the Hong Kong Derby in March, won his group stakes debut in Sunday’s Group 3 Queen Mother Memorial Cup at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong, one of the few stakes on that circuit at 1 1/2 miles on turf.

Ridden by Vincent Lo for trainer David Hall, Ho Ho Khan, the 9-5 favorite, closed from the middle of a field of nine to take the lead with a furlong remaining, winning by 2 1/2 lengths over 8-1 Savvy Six. Helene Leadingstar, the 6-1 fourth choice, finished third after setting the pace.

Ho Ho Khan carried 122 pounds, 11 fewer than topweight Insayshable, a 9-1 chance who was in contention early but faded to seventh.

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A 4-year-old New Zealand-bred colt, Ho Ho Khan won for the fourth time on Sunday in the current Hong Kong season, which began in September. Ho Ho Khan won three consecutive races from early November to late January.

The $414,271 Queen Mother Memorial Cup is likely to be Ho Ho Khan’s final start of the Hong Kong season. Hall told Hong Kong publicity that Ho Ho Khan will be pointed for the Hong Kong international races in December.

“My intention would be to put him away now, and hopefully he can mature a little bit more, and we might have a horse for December,” Hall said. “We’ll see with his prep runs in October how he’s going and make a decision on what his future is.”