Hong Kong: Class 2 Sha Tin feature could offer clues to Hong Kong Derby

The featured third race Monday at Sha Tin could open a window onto the 2022 Hong Kong Derby.

This Class 2 handicap for horses rated 100-75 is carded at 2,000 meters, about 1 1/4 miles and the same distance as the Hong Kong Derby, the culminating event in the 4-year-old classic series. Scheduled for March 20 next year, the Derby follows the Classic Mile over 1,600 meters and the Classic Cup at 1,800 meters.

Monday’s race drew a trio of 4-year-olds whose connections could have Derby designs, among them Senor Toba, an Australian-bred son of Toronado and the Teofilo mare Bahamas, who is set to make his third Hong Kong start. Trained by Caspar Fownes and to be ridden Monday by Joao Moreira, Senor Toba made his Hong Kong debut Nov. 28, rallying mildly for seventh after galloping along at the back of a 14-horse field in a 1,400-meter contest. Back two weeks later going 1,600 meters, Senor Toba improved to finish third, and Moreira told Hong Kong Jockey Club publicity that his mount ought to excel at Monday’s trip.

“We all think he’s a 2000-meter horse. The conditions suit him perfectly on Monday,” Moreira said.

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Indeed, Senor Toba won a Group 3 over 2,000 meters during his time racing in Australia and finished second of 18 in his final start there going 2,400 meters in the Group 1 Queensland Derby.

Berlin Tango, an English expatriate, ended the European phase of his career in June 2020 finishing a creditable third in the Group 3 Hampton Court Stakes, a 1 1/4-mile race at Royal Ascot. Berlin Tango, trained by Tony Cruz, has made 11 Hong Kong starts and failed to finish better than third, though only his most recent outing, when he was overmatched in the Group 1 Hong Kong Cup, came over a distance this long.

Hit the Shot, an Australian import trained by John Size, makes just his second Hong Kong start following a modest 11th-place finish in his local debut Nov. 28. He, too, ought to improve with added ground as evidenced by his second-place finish in his Australian finale, the Group 1 Victoria Derby over 1 9/16 miles.

Post time for Monday’s 10-race program is midnight Eastern, and you can catch all the action at DRFBets.com.