Insayshable making long-awaited second start

A splint bone injury detected in January has kept the 4-year-old gelding Insayshable off the track in Hong Kong for the last six months.

Insayshable had a solid debut in Hong Kong last December, finishing third in a minor handicap at Happy Valley Racecourse. Insayshable makes a long-awaited second start in Wednesday’s $237,027 Manawatu Racing Club Challenge Trophy at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Happy Valley.

Insayshable will carry 126 pounds, two less than topweights Doctor Geoff and Litterateur. An Irish-bred, Insayshable was beaten three-quarters of a length in his debut last December, closing well despite racing in traffic in early stretch. Joao Moreira has the mount for leading trainer John Size.

In Ireland, Insayshable won 2 of 4 starts in 2016 and last year when trained by Ger Lyons.

Doctor Geoff, a 4-year-old Irish-bred gelding, is winless in seven starts in Hong Kong, but was a game second to Rise High in a handicap at a mile on turf at Sha Tin Racecourse on May 20, closing well to miss by a neck. Leading rider Zac Purton has the mount for hot trainer Tony Cruz, who won two Group 3 races at Sha Tin on Sunday.

Doctor Geoff also began his career in Ireland with Lyons, winning two of three races, including the minor Tetrarch Stakes for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs at Naas in May 2017.

Litterateur, the mount of Neil Callan, won consecutive races at Happy Valley at about a mile in February and March and was third in his two most recent starts at that track in April and May.

Litterateur and Insayshable tend to run from off the pace, while Doctor Geoff has run well as a stalker.

The Cruz-trained Jolly Gene, who will carry 117 pounds, is expected to set the pace. Jolly Gene won two lower-class races earlier this year, but has been 11th and seventh in his last two starts.