Marvel Hero gets highweight for Chai Wan Kok Handicap

The lightest horse must carry the heaviest burden in the featured Chai Wan Kok Handicap on Wednesday night at Happy Valley Racecourse in Hong Kong.

Marvel Hero weighed in at 990 pounds at entry time for the Chai Wan Kok, a Class 2 handicap for horses rated 100-80 contested at 1650 meters – one circuit of the Happy Valley course – and worth a little less than $238,136. That, by a fairly wide margin, is the lowest weight recorded among any of the race’s 12 entrants, and a horse name Beauty Prince weighed in more than 300 pounds more than Marvel Hero.

Marvel Hero, however, is the race’s top-rated horse at 100, and even with two-pound apprentice Vincent Ho named to ride, Marvel Hero totes 131 pounds, at least eight and as much as 18 more than any of his opponents. Marvel Hero, according to a Hong Kong Jockey Club press release, is being aimed at the January Handicap next month at Happy Valley. He exits a somewhat troubled third-place finish going 1800 meters a couple of weeks ago at Happy Valley and has won before over Wednesday’s distance.

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California Whip’s only Hong Kong win came over 1200 meters at Sha Tin, but he has only once tried the Happy Valley course, finishing a closing fourth in a 1200-meter Class 2 on Nov. 8, and is a mildly interesting stretchout candidate.

Insayshable, an Irish import trained by John Size with Joao Moreira named to ride, makes his Hong Kong debut. He won two of four races in Ireland, beating maidens over 1 1/4 miles and winners over just short of 1 3/16 miles, a hint Insayshable could be gearing up for longer races next year at age 4. Another recent arrival, Singapore Sling, was sixth of 11 on Nov. 26 at Sha Tin making his Hong Kong debut in a 1400-meter Class 2.

Post time for the feature is 9:50 a.m. Eastern; the eight-race card begins at 5:15 a.m.