Hong Kong: Beauty Smile has weighty task in Class 2 handicap

Beauty Smile sharply won a Class 1 handicap in his most recent start and on Sunday in the featured third race at Sha Tin takes on eight foes in a Class 2 handicap over the same 1,400-meter trip at which he just won. You might think Beauty Smile stands out here – but weight just a minute.

Beauty Smile snuck into the Class 1 at a relatively wispy 113 pounds, getting as much a 20 pounds from his rivals. Sunday, he’s the 132-pound highweight, and Beauty Smile has yet to show he can carry a demanding impost to victory. He also faces the task of trying to carry his top form through a third straight start as Beauty Smile, trained by Tony Cruz and with Matthew Chadwick named to ride, tries to extend a winning streak to three. The 4-year-old Irish import had lost his first seven Hong Kong starts.

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Enter The Crown. The Crown is a 4-year-old like Beauty Smile, even more lightly raced with just three Hong Kong starts, but is coming from a much different direction. Where Beauty Smile is down in class off a win, The Crown moves up in class off a loss, but The Crown is the more appealing play of the two.

The Crown, for starters, was saddled with post 13 in his most recent start, a Class 3 over 1,400 meters at Sha Tin, and that left jockey Christophe Soumillon with no good options. Soumillon opted to drop to the tail of the field and save ground, sticking to the inside the entire trip and encountering some traffic in the homestretch that prevented The Crown from fully extending. He still finished a competitive fifth (galloping out with good energy) as the 133-pound highweight. Sunday, The Crown, with a switch to leading rider Joao Moreira, gets in at 120 pounds and has a much better draw in post 6. Go ahead – crown him.

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First post for the 10-race card is midnight Eastern. You can catch all the action at DRFBets.com.