Recent import Yee Cheong Baby the likely favorite in Suffolk Handicap
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLEIt is not easy for a horse to win its debut in Hong Kong in new training and racing surroundings, and sometimes racing at night for the first time.
Yee Cheong Baby, an accomplished runner in Australia in 2017 and 2018, won his first start in Hong Kong in a handicap at Happy Valley Racecourse on April 24 and did so as the 2-1 favorite.
It would be no surprise if Yee Cheong Baby is favored again in his second start in Hong Kong – Wednesday’s $248,432 Suffolk Handicap at six furlongs on turf at Happy Valley.
Trained by Jimmy Ting, Yee Cheong Baby will be ridden by Zac Purton, the leading rider in Hong Kong this season. Yee Cheong Baby is a 3-year-old Australian-bred gelding who has won 2 of 5 starts. In Australia, Yee Cheong Baby raced under the name Neutrality and won his debut at Rosehill Gardens in 2017.
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In 2018, Yee Cheong Baby was winless in three stakes in Australia, including a second in the Group 3 San Domenico Stakes for Southern Hemisphere 3-year-olds at Rosehill Gardens last August.
In his Hong Kong debut, Yee Cheong Baby was always near the front in a five-furlong race and won by three-quarters of a length.
Yee Cheong Baby has been assigned 124 pounds for the Suffolk Handicap, eight less than topweight Fortune Booth, the winner of a six-furlong handicap on the infield dirt track at Sha Tin Racecourse on April 22.
Trained by John Moore, Fortune Booth won for the first time in his 10th start of the season on April 22.
Yee Cheong Baby may face early pressure from Little Bird (127 pounds) and Fat Turtle (118).
Little Bird has won twice at Happy Valley this season, but was last of 14 after a wide trip in a six-furlong handicap at Sha Tin on April 28. Fat Turtle won his Hong Kong debut at Happy Valley on March 13 and was second in two subsequent starts.
A 4-year-old Australian-bred gelding, Fat Turtle faces a rise in class to a higher level of handicap racing on Wednesday, which is reflected in his low weight assignment.
