Hong Kong: Green Luck well-situated for a successful start to Happy Valley season

Green Luck began his 2019-2020 Hong Kong season winning a Class 2 handicap over 1,650 meters at Happy Valley and might start his 2020-2021 campaign Wednesday night the same way.

Joao Moreira rode Green Luck for trainer Caspar Fownes on Sept. 11, 2019 as Green Luck swooped to a 1 1/2-length victory under the same conditions he encounters in the last of eight races at Happy Valley. Green Luck proceeded to lose his next 12 starts, but as soon as he dipped down to a Class 3 handicap, also at 1,650 meters around the Happy Valley course, he won again on June 10.

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Green Luck finished out his season with two decent runs in Class 2 races and comes into this start rated 87, which gets him a weight assignment of a relatively feathery 116 pounds Wednesday night. Post 5 is a good draw and there are many reasons to believe Green Luck will be competitive.

His rivals include Alpha Hedge, who ended 2019-2020 on an upswing that carried over into his first start of this campaign, a two-length, front-running score in a 1,650-meter Class 3 on Sept. 9 at Happy Valley. Alpha Hedge got a seven-point ratings rise on the basis of that showing and comes into this start also rated 87, a far cry from the 60 at which he began last season.

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Alpha Hedge before last month had done his best work stalking the pace and could get a good trip from post 7.

Not Usual Talent and Buddies have to pack considerable weight but are drawn well enough and look plausible.

First post for the Wednesday card is 7:15 a.m. Eastern. Wagering and live video is available at DRFBets.com.