Insayshable giving major weight in Queen Mother Memorial Cup

Insayshable will carry the top weight of 133 pounds in Sunday’s Group 3 Queen Mother Memorial Cup at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong on the basis of his form in races at a mile to 1 1/4 miles this season.

The $414,271 Queen Mother Memorial Cup is a handicap run at 1 1/2 miles on turf. The distance will be new to Insayshable and several of his nine rivals. None has run that far in Hong Kong, a distance that is infrequent at Sha Tin, the circuit’s premier racecourse.

Insayshable was second by three-quarters of a length in a handicap at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Sha Tin on April 7. Joao Moreira, who rode Insayshable to his most recent win in December, regains the mount after a two-race break.

Trained by John Size, Insayshable is such a standout in terms of rating that the 5-year-old gelding concedes nine pounds to Ruthven, who is second in the weights at 124 pounds. Ruthven, trained by Frankie Lor, gets leading rider Zac Purton. Ruthven was fourth in the 2018 Hong Kong Derby at 1 1/4 miles and 12th in the Group 1 Hong Kong Vase at 1 1/2 miles in December.

Ruthven won the Group 1 Queensland Derby at 1 3/8 miles in Australia in 2017, his final start before being exported to Hong Kong.

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The leading 4-year-old in the field is Ho Ho Khan, who was fifth in the Hong Kong Derby on March 17 and later a troubled third in the same race as Insayshable on April 7. Ho Ho Khan, who will be ridden by Vincent Lo for trainer David Hall, will carry 122 pounds.

“Mr. Hall and I think he can handle the distance,” Lo told Hong Kong publicity on Friday. “He always relaxes and travels in his races, so [1 1/2 miles] will be no problem for him. He’s improved each run.”

Helene Charisma, who will carry 117, was second in the Queen Mother Memorial Cup in 2017. A 6-year-old gelding, Helene Charisma won the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris for 3-year-olds at 1 1/2 miles on turf at Saint-Cloud Racecourse in France in 2016 when racing under the name Mont Ormel. Horses frequently have their names changed when they are sent to Hong Kong.

Trained by John Moore, Helene Charisma has won 2 of 30 starts in Hong Kong since January 2017, with the wins coming in lesser races at Happy Valley Racecourse in March. Helene Charisma was eighth in the same race as Insayshable and Ho Ho Khan on April 7.

A wet Friday and the possibility of more rain this weekend could turn the condition of the Sha Tin turf course to Helene Charisma’s favor, Moore said.

“I just have some doubts about him being at his best at Sha Tin as compared to Happy Valley,” Moore said. “He was a fit horse going into that last race and didn’t finish off as required. He might be a horse-for-courses type of horse.

“He’ll love it if we can get some rain.”