Hong Kong: Calculation, Beauty Prince legged up for handicap

Calculation and Beauty Prince finished second and fifth in a six-furlong handicap on the infield dirt track at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong on Oct. 13. For both geldings, the race was their first start since the 2017-18 Hong Kong season, which ended in July.

There is every reason they will benefit from the recent race when they start in Wednesday’s $248,613 Hebe Hill Handicap at about a mile and 50 yards on the dirt at Sha Tin.

The Hebe Hill Handicap is the richest of eight races on Sha Tin’s all-dirt program.

:: Hong Kong: Free PPs, picks, and analysis

Calculation, the 133-pound highweight, is winless in eight starts since a victory in a handicap at about a mile and 50 yards at Sha Tin in Marcy. Calculation closed from eighth and was beaten three-quarters of a length on Oct. 13. Trained by John Size, Calculation has one win and four seconds in five starts on the dirt track at Sha Tin.

Beauty Prince, who will carry 121 pounds thanks to apprentice jockey Victor Wong’s seven-pound claim, was beaten two lengths in the Oct. 13 race after setting the pace. Trained by John Moore, Beauty Prince won a handicap at a mile and 50 yards at Sha Tin last March, his only victory in seven starts on the surface.

Beauty Prince could face pressure from Sunny Win, the 116-pound low-weight. Sunny Win has raced against lesser company in recent starts, and moved into the more difficult class 2 division on Wednesday.

Last December, Sunny Win led throughout a handicap a mile and 50 yards at Sha Tin, his second win on the surface. Sunny Win has lost three subsequent starts, including an eighth in a handicap on turf in July, his most recent race.