Hong Kong: Southern Legend must overcome weight disadvantage in Premier Plate at Sha Tin

Southern Legend is heading into the Hong Kong offseason with another hefty parcel of weight on his back.

In the Lion Rock Trophy Handicap on May 31, Southern Legend carried top weight of 133 pounds and was beaten a nose. Sunday, in the Group 3 Premier Plate Handicap at Sha Tin, Southern Legend again must lug 133 pounds and do so while racing 1,800 meters, perhaps a touch farther than his ideal trip.

Southern Legend gives up as much as 20 pounds to the lowest-rated horses in the race, and his breakthrough performance earlier this season, a nose win over an in-form Beauty Generation, Hong Kong’s best horse the last three seasons, came over 1,600 meters. Southern Legend’s connections have tried him over all manner of distances and sent him several times, with good luck, to Singapore, but the 7-year-old gelding seemed to have found his niche in 1,600-meter races at Sha Tin.

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Nonetheless, and even considering his impost, he rates as good a chance as any in the eighth of 11 races Sunday. First post for the card is 12:30 a.m. Eastern, with live-streaming video and wagering available at DRFBets.com.

The horse who nipped Southern Legend in the Lion Rock Trophy, Kaying Star, isn’t entered in the Premier Plate, nor is the horse who finished just behind him, Fast Most Furious. That leaves a hodgepodge of plausible contenders among the seven others entered in this one-turn contest.

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More Than This skipped the Lion Rock Trophy and finished a fine third in his most recent 1,800-meter start at Sha Tin. He gets 14 pounds from Southern Legend as well as the services of jockey Zac Purton and figures to be competitive.

Furore, second-highest rated in the field at 120, almost certainly needs a longer distance than this to be most effective, but Helene Leadingstar, while light on class, enjoys the trip and carries just 113 pounds.

Co-featured on the card is the Group 3 Premier Cup Handicap over 1,400 meters, which drew only five entrants. Top-rated Thanks Forever prefers shorter distances, but the sharp, improving 4-year-old Perfect Match can get the trip from a forward position and ought to have a great chance to win under Joao Moreira.