Hong Kong: Egret Handicap at Sha Tin serving as Godolphin Mile prep

The Sunday feature at Sha Tin could have implications as far afield as Dubai.

Kings Shield, the top weight and likely favorite in featured race 3, already has been entered in the Godolphin Mile, the Group 2 dirt fixture in late March at Meydan Racecourse, trainer Frankie Lor told Hong Kong Jockey Club publicity this week. Glorious Artist, another Lor trainee in the Sunday feature, also was an early entrant into the Godolphin Mile, though Lor clearly said Kings Shield is the better prospect for Sunday success.

The feature, dubbed the Egret Handicap, is a Class 1 for horses rated 110-85 and carded at 1,650 meters on dirt, about one circuit around the secondary Sha Tin oval.

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Kings Shield, an American-bred 6-year-old, likes to lead and won a Class 2 handicap at this dirt distance Nov. 4 at Sha Tin by nearly four lengths. His steep impost of 133 pounds includes jockey Zac Purton, who figures to let Kings Shield run to the lead.

Sunday’s highest-class turf contest is race 9, the Class 2 Flamingo Handicap for horses rated 100-80 and carded over a straight 1,000 meters. Four-year-old Wellington really shined in his first trip over the distance, winning a Dec. 26 Class 3 by 2 1/4 lengths in his first start this season, a performance that earned Wellington a nine-point rating rise.

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Going up a level in class, however, Wellington is weighted at 122, getting as much as 10 pounds from the higher-rated entrants. The last-start success was no performance outlier, either, as Wellington won the first three starts of his career last season before finishing unplaced in his fourth outing.

First post for this card is midnight Eastern and you can catch all the Hong Kong action at DRFBets.com.