Horse of Fortune, Romantic Touch have something to prove

Horse of Fortune and Romantic Touch, the first- and second-place finishers in the Group 3 Premier Plate Handicap in June, start their 2017-18 Hong Kong campaigns in Sunday’s $319,979 Kwangtang Handicap at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong.

Despite their successful races in top company in the not-too-distant past, both have something to prove in Sunday’s rich race at seven furlongs on turf.
Romantic Touch and Horse of Fortune were fourth and seventh in a class 1 handicap at Sha Tin on July 16, in their final starts of the 2016-17 season. The race was restricted to horses rated 90 to 115. Sunday’s race has the same conditions.

Horse of Fortune, a 7-year-old gelding, is rated at 115 and will carry topweight of 133 pounds, five pounds more than Romantic Touch, who is rated at 110. Both horses will have new riders. Jockey Umberto Rispoli, a native of Italy, will ride Horse of Fortune for the first time. Joao Moreira, a native of Brazil and Hong Kong’s leading rider, will ride Romantic Touch for the first time.

The Kwangtang Handicap drew a field of eight.

The two highweights must beat Winner’s Way, who will carry 128 pounds. In the 2016-17 season, Winner’s Way won 6 of 13 starts in Hong Kong, beating Horse of Fortune in a handicap May 13. Winner’s Way ended the season with a second in the Group 3 Premier Cup at seven furlongs on June 25.

Zac Purton rode Winner’s Way in his final three starts last year and has the mount Sunday. Purton is likely to have Winner’s Way near the front from post 2, and could face pressure from Romantic Touch.

The Hong Kong season began earlier this month. Of the eight runners in the Kwangtang Handicap, only Magic Legend has a start in the young season. Magic Legend was fourth in a six-furlong handicap on turf at Sha Tin on Sept. 3, losing by two lengths as the 3-1 favorite.