Preciousship sharp for Choi Wan Handicap
Preciousship has made considerable progress since he finished last of 14 in a seven-furlong handicap at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong in September.
Since that defeat, Preciousship has won three of four starts and was a troubled second on Dec. 8. The success has left Preciousship with a career-high rating of 93, a ranking that determines race eligibility in Hong Kong’s handicap system.
Saturday, Preciousship starts in the $270,507 Choi Wan Handicap at a mile for horses with ratings ranging from 105 to 80. In October, when Preciousship won for the first time in Hong Kong in his 11th start on that circuit, the gelding had a rating of 70 and ran in lower-class races than the competition in the Choi Wan Handicap.
Trained by Ricky Yiu, who is second in the Hong Kong standings, Preciousship has developed a closing style that has carried him to the front in the final sixteenth. On Dec. 8, Preciousship raced in traffic in early stretch and was beaten a head. The three wins have been in two races at a mile and once at seven furlongs.
Jockey Vincent Ho, fourth in the standings, has had the mount on Preciousship in the last four races and is back aboard on Saturday.
Preciousship will carry 121 pounds, 12 less than topweight Good Standing, who has a rating of 105. Good Standing is winless in seven starts since May for trainer John Moore. On Jan. 27, Good Standing finished fifth by two lengths in a seven-furlong handicap.
There is likely to be ample support for Insayshable, who was fifth by 2 1/2 lengths as a 31-1 outsider in the Group 3 January Cup at 1 1/8 miles on Jan. 8 at Happy Valley Racecourse. Zac Purton will ride Insayshable, who will carry 130 pounds. Purton rode Insayshable to a win at Happy Valley in October 2018.
The one-mile distance will suit Fast Most Furious, who will carry 132 pounds. Fast Most Furious won a one-mile handicap at Sha Tin on Nov. 23 and was a fast-closing second in a seven-furlong handicap on Jan. 27.
SPENCER TO RIDE FURORE
Jockey Jame Spencer, a former champion rider in Ireland and Great Britain, has been booked to ride Furore in the Group 1 Hong Kong Gold Cup at Sha Tin on Feb. 16, the Hong Kong Jockey Club announced on Thursday.
Spencer, 39, is eligible to ride the entire Sha Tin program that day. Spencer, currently riding on occasion in Britain, was winless with three mounts at Sha Tin on Jan. 27.
Furore, trained by Frankie Lor, is winless in six starts since a victory in the Hong Kong Derby last March. Furore was last of seven in the Group 1 Stewards’ Cup at a mile at Sha Tin on Jan. 19. The $1.28 million Hong Kong Gold Cup is run at 1 1/4 miles, the same distance as the Hong Kong Derby.