Hong Kong: Super Turbo in tough in Aberdeen Handicap

Super Turbo ended the 2016-17 season in Hong Kong in excellent form, with a win and a second in two six-furlong handicaps.

For his debut in the current season, in the $238,633 Aberdeen Handicap at Happy Valley Racecourse on Wednesday, Super Turbo will need to be in mid-season form.

In Wednesday’s 12-horse field, Super Turbo faces three notable rivals – Pablosky, Spotlight Dream and Starlight. The Aberdeen Handicap is the final race on an eight-race program that begins at 6:15 a.m. Eastern. The Aberdeen Handicap has a post time of 9:50 a.m.

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Super Turbo, a 4-year-old colt, has won 3 of 12 starts at Happy Valley in his career. Last May, Super Turbo won a six-furlong handicap at Happy Valley and was second in a similar race at the same venue on July 12 in his last start of the season.

Under the handicap conditions of Wednesday’s race, Super Turbo will carry 129 pounds, four less than topweight Archippus, who was fourth in a five-furlong handicap on turf at Happy Valley on Oct. 11.

Pablosky may set the pace. He was second in a six-furlong handicap on the all-weather surface at Sha Tin Racecourse on Oct. 14.

Spotlight Dream was a two-time winner on the all-weather tracks in France last winter and was later third in a minor stakes at Chantilly in March before being exported to Hong Kong. Spotlight Dream won his Hong Kong debut in a six-furlong handicap on the all-weather surface at Sha Tin on Oct. 14. By Holy Roman Emperor, Spotlight Dream will have his turf debut on Wednesday.

Starlight, who will carry 114 pounds, will face a class test. He has won three consecutive races against lower-class opponents since mid-September. Starlight may be a factor from off the pace.