Hong Kong: Packing Award poised for third straight win in Happy Valley Class 3

Not one, not two, not three, but four Class 3 handicaps headline the Wednesday card at Happy Valley as Hong Kong racing gears up for a multiple Group 1 card on Sunday.

In the nightcap, the last of nine races, the improving Packing Award should have a good chance to win his third race in a row. An Australian-bred who only has raced in Hong Kong, Packing Award hinted at moderate ability last season but has really come forward this term since being stretched from sprints to 1,650-meter races at Happy Valley.

As the 132-pound highweight in a Feb. 23 Class 4 handicap, Packing Award, racing beyond 1,400 meters for the first time, was up by a narrow margin while giving seven and 14 pounds, respectively, to the two horses behind him. Stepped up to Class 3 for the first time in his career, Packing Award overcame a three-wide trip around the far turn, accelerating impressively in the final 200 meters to win a March 23 Class 3 by 1 1/4 lengths. Up seven points in ratings off that decisive score, Packing Award picks up five pounds and carries 124 Wednesday. He can handle the weight, has a good draw in post 4, and can win again under Karis Teetan.

Two of the other Class 3 handicaps, races 3 and 7, are standard-issue 1,200-meter contests, but race 6 offers a fairly rare chance for the long-winded set to get in a Happy Valley start. This race will be contested over 2,200 meters, about 1 3/8 miles, with the start on the Happy Valley backstretch and three turns before the finish.

Vincy has more experience at the extended trip than any of his 10 rivals, but he also has just two wins from 43 Hong Kong starts. Leading jockey Zac Purton rides top-rated Rise Brethren, unproven over the distance and at Happy Valley, and the 133-pound highweight. French-bred Rise Brethren, a son of Lope de Vega, exits a 2,000-meter Class 3 win at Sha Tin. It’s possible his non-threatening fifth-place Class 3 finish in his lone Happy Valley start had more to do with an insufficient distance, 1,800 meters, than an inability to produce top form on the irregular course.

Way down near the bottom of the weights, at 118, is Blastoise, ridden by Purton’s rival for leading rider, Joao Moreira. Six-year-old Blastoise has been mired in Class 3 for the better part of three racing seasons, but he does have some tactical pace, appears to stay this trip, and the last time Moreira rode him – back on March 11, 2020, at Happy Valley – Blastoise notched one of his three Hong Kong wins.

First post for this card is 6:45 a.m. Eastern. Watch and wager at DRFBets.com.

Sunday’s card at Sha Tin is the second most important of the season, featuring three international Group 1s: The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes over 2,000 meters, the Champions Mile, and the Champions Sprint. In more normal times there would be a host of Japanese challengers entered, but COVID-19 restrictions preclude any but local horses from entering these races.