Hong Kong: Fat Turtle goes long

The $249,603 Hoi Ha Handicap at about a mile and 50 yards at Happy Valley Racecourse in Hong Kong on Wednesday will be the longest race Fat Turtle has run in.

The 4-year-old gelding may have a silly name, but he has a fine race record with four wins from 10 career starts, all in Australia and Hong Kong. There are clues the distance will suit Fat Turtle.

Since joining trainer Frankie Lor’s stable in Hong Kong, Fat Turtle has started four times, winning once with three seconds. In a six-furlong handicap at Happy Valley on May 22, Fat Turtle closed from third to finish second by two lengths as the 5-2 favorite.

All four of Fat Turtle’s races in Hong Kong have been at six furlongs. In his final start in Australia, where he raced under the name Butchoy, Fat Turtle won a one-mile race at Royal Randwick last August. Horses frequently have their names changed when they are transferred to Hong Kong.

Wednesday, Fat Turtle will carry 120 pounds, 12 less than topweight Litterateur, who is winless in his last three starts. Leading jockey Zac Purton will ride Fat Turtle, which assures the Australian-bred will be well-backed by Hong Kong deep-pocketed bettors.

Purton has ridden Fat Turtle twice, winning a six-furlong handicap at Happy Valley in March and finishing a game second in a six-furlong handicap at Sha Tin on April 24. Karis Teetan rode Fat Turtle in the May 22 race.

Lor also starts Turin Redstar, who will carry 131 pounds in his first start on turf since a win in a handicap at a mile and 50 yards at Happy Valley on April 17. Turin Redstar was fourth in a handicap at a mile a 50 yards on the infield dirt track at Sha Tin in May.

The race conditions are a good fit for Green Luck, who was a troubled second in a handicap at 1 1/8 miles at Happy Valley on June 5, losing by a neck despite being bumped in the final furlong.