Hong Kong: Sight Success carries a load in Happy Valley co-feature

Sight Success this Hong Kong season has demonstrated versatility to match his ability, winning races over the Happy Valley turf course and the Sha Tin dirt track, and finishing a solid second in a Sha Tin grass contest. His latest challenge: carrying top weight of 132 pounds and breaking from post 12 in the co-featured ninth race Wednesday at Happy Valley.

Sight Success has the outside gate in a 1,200-meter Class 2 handicap for horses rated 105-80, and with a 105 rating Sight Success carries a hefty impost. Sight Success, trained by John Size, might be good enough to overcome the circumstances, but that will depend on an alert break and jockey Victor Borges’s ability to save some ground or, if nothing else, find some cover before the turn comes up. Sight Success already has won a pair of Class 2s over the Happy Valley course this season and in his most recent race, on Jan. 1, finished second under 127 pounds in the Group 2 Bauhinia Sprint Cup at Sha Tin.

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Voyage Warrior carries 128 pounds, getting four from Sight Success, and comes off a nice bounce-back race on Feb. 6 at Happy Valley. Typically a front-runner, Voyage Warrior raced along the rail and behind a rival around the turn in his most recent race, coming willingly between horses in mid-stretch under Zac Purton, who has the mount again Wednesday. Voyage Warrior finished off nicely but wound up second best behind a sharp run from Grateful Heart, who snuck up the rail to prevail by a neck. Voyage Warrior drops five pounds off that start, going from 133 to 128, and looks a danger from post 5.

Down at the bottom of the ratings here, sitting at 83, comes Majestic Star, a lightly raced 4-year-old whose last-start Class 3 win came over Sha Tin dirt, but who has won before on the Happy Valley grass course. He has post 1 and a pressing or stalking style to get a good trip while carrying just 113 pounds, 20 fewer than Sight Success.

Race 8 is another Class 2 handicap for horses rated 105-80, this one carded for 1,650 meters, and here, too, the highest-rated horses drew outside posts. Buddies, rated 104 and giving his nine rivals between nine and 24 pounds, has post 12, a very difficult spot with a short run to the first of two turns. This gelding, however, hasn’t raced at a level as low as Class 2 in 17 starts. And things are not much easier for Cheerful Days, who breaks from post 11 trying to win for the sixth time in 10 starts this Hong Kong racing season. Cheerful Days has a very unusual profile having raced as low as Class 4 in October while coming off a Class 1 score Feb. 3 at Sha Tin, benefitting from racing that day under a feathery 113 pounds.

Beauty Joy could be the right one, though likely not at much of a price. Beauty Joy had a rough start to his Hong Kong career last season but has two wins and a second from his three starts during the 2021-22 season and still has room to improve. Trainer Tony Cruz stretched Beauty Joy from two 1,400-meter starts at Sha Tin to a 1,650-meter contest Jan. 19 at Happy Valley and got a nice kick from Beauty Joy, who was up from fifth to win by a neck. Purton rides him back and has a mount with tactical versatility who still should be coming forward at this early stage of his Hong Kong career.

First post for the card is 5:45 a.m. Eastern and you can catch all the action at DRFBets.com.