Hong Kong: Rare marathon at Happy Valley

There are four Class 3 handicaps on the Wednesday card at Happy Valley, but only one of them, race 2, falls beyond the typical Happy Valley fare.

Races over 1,000 meters, 1,200 meters, and 1,650 meters comprise the bulk of Happy Valley cards, but this is a 2,200-meter contest run around three turns. It drew nine entrants, several of whose connections surely have been awaiting this relatively rare opportunity at such a lengthy Happy Valley distance.

Above, a New Zealand-bred 6-year-old in his fourth season of Hong Kong racing, has plenty of form at the trip, most of it good. Above’s first Happy Valley 2,200-meter start came in November 2019, a Class 4 handicap he won by a head. He was fourth later in the 2019-20 season in his second 2,200-meter Happy Valley start, fifth in a April 2021 race at the distance, and trainer Tony Millard has found two 2,000-meter races this season, both at the Class 3 level. Above finished a close second on Oct. 31 and won on Dec. 22, his most recent outing.

Noteworthy in that race was the way Above, often racing from the tail of a field, stuck relatively close to the leaders, coming home a three-quarter-length winner under 125 pounds. He carries 126 Wednesday and must cope with post 9 and a relatively short run to the first turn.

Top-rated S J Tourbillon brought strong European credentials to Hong Kong, finishing second in the 2021 Hampton Court Stakes, a Group 3 at Royal Ascot, but has struggled in his three Hong Kong appearances, finishing 14th, ninth, and 12th. Those races were Class 2s at Sha Tin, but it’s hard to back S J Tourbillon off such languid performances.

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Winning Dragon came from Chile, not Ireland, but has a similar profile to S J Tourbillon’s – three modest Sha Tin showings followed by a class drop and move to Happy Valley.

Exceptional Nice was second to Above when they met at this class level and distance in December, while aptly named Fast Pace could, indeed, set the pace while stretching out from a long string of shorter races where he showed speed.

The other Class 3s, all at shorter distances, go as races 4, 8, and 9. First post for the card is 5:45 a.m. Eastern and you can catch all the action at DRFBets.com.