Hong Kong Derby hopefuls square off in feature

A trio of 4-year-olds who could have designs on the Hong Kong Derby this spring headline the featured 10th race Sunday at Sha Tin.

Enjoying, Super Oasis, and Columbus County are closely clustered in Hong Kong’s official ratings, and all three appear to be on the rise as they enter this 1,800-meter Class 2 handicap open to horses rated 100-80.

Enjoying and Super Oasis finished third and fourth, respectively, separated by a couple inches in a Jan. 5 Sha Tin race under these same conditions. Both raced from the back of a full field, and while Enjoying saved all the ground and cut the corner into the homestretch, he encountered traffic and had to squeeze through a tight hole, costing him some momentum, before leveling off and coming home encouragingly. Super Oasis took the overland route but did get a clear run because of it, appearing to hit peak speed about 200 meters out before flattening a touch the final furlong.

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Enjoying, trained by John Moore, was making only his third Hong Kong start since being imported from Australia. Sylvestre de Sousa has the mount Sunday. Jo Moreira rides Super Oasis for trainer Frankie Lor, whose horse, like Enjoying, will be making his fourth Hong Kong start.

Columbus County, Zac Purton up for trainer Caspar Fownes, has raced only twice in Hong Kong and after a solid closing fourth-place finish in October, he rallied from ninth to finish second of 14 on Jan. 11 in a Class 2 handicap over 1,600 meters, closing out that performance like a horse who will appreciate added distance.

The Sunday feature comes at the end of a 10-race card and has a scheduled post time of 4 a.m. Eastern.