Super Sunny Sing hitting his stride for Hong Kong Derby

Super Sunny Sing has gone from a struggling sprinter last fall to a blooming router in Hong Kong in recent months.

A four-race winning streak since mid-December, including a race at 1 1/8 miles last month, has left Super Sunny Sing among the leading contenders for Sunday’s $3.05 million Hong Kong Derby for 4-year-olds at Sha Tin Racecourse.

Super Sunny Sing must beat Beauty Eternal, who has won his last three starts in handicaps ranging from six furlongs to a mile since late January. Super Sunny Sing and Beauty Eternal, Australian-bred geldings, are part of a field of 14 in the Hong Kong Derby at 1 1/4 miles, a new distance for all the runners.

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Super Sunny Sing’s winning streak consists of two handicaps at seven furlongs, a handicap at a mile and the $1.528 million Hong Kong Classic Cup at 1 1/8 miles for 4-year-olds on Feb. 26.

The Hong Kong Classic Cup is the second race in the 4-year-old classic series that ends with the Hong Kong Derby.

“I thought his last run was very important because at least he has proven that he can handle [a mile and an eighth] by winning that race,” trainer Chris So told Hong Kong publicity earlier this week.

In each of the wins, Super Sunny Sing has closed from well off the pace under jockey Vincent Ho, who has the mount on Sunday. There is a possibility that Ho will win his 500th career race in the Hong Kong Derby, the eighth race on a 10-race program. Ho has mounts in the day’s first six races, but does not ride the seventh.

Beauty Eternal, the mount of leading Hong Kong rider Zac Purton, has never raced beyond a mile in his brief career, which includes four wins in five starts. Beauty Eternal, trained by John Size, tends to run from a tracking position.

Beauty Eternal drew post 7, which should give Purton a chance to position his mount near the front in the short run to the first turn on the right-handed course.

Voyage Bubble, who has a tough draw in post 14, may set the pace. He led throughout the $1.528 million Hong Kong Classic Mile, the first leg of the classic series, on Jan. 29, but faded to finish sixth by four lengths in the Hong Kong Classic Cup.

Tuchel, second in the Classic Mile and fourth in the Classic Cup, will be ridden for the first time by internationally renowned jockey Ryan Moore for Size.

Purton will ride California Spangle against four rivals in the Group 1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup at seven furlongs in the race preceding the Hong Kong Derby.

California Spangle has won 9 of 15 starts in his career and was third by 1 1/4 lengths in the Group 1 Stewards’ Cup at a mile on Jan. 29 behind the brilliant Golden Sixty, a winner of 24 of 28 starts.

California Spangle beat Golden Sixty by a neck in the Group 1 Hong King Mile against an international field at Sha Tin in December.

In the $1.528 million Jubilee Cup, California Spangle starts from the inside and is expected to set the pace. Lucky Sweynesse, who Purton rode to a win in the Group 1 Centenary Sprint Cup at six furlongs on Feb. 5, can be a factor as a stalker.

A winner of 9 of 13 starts, Lucky Sweynesse will be ridden for the first time by top Australian jockey James McDonald in his first appearance in Hong Kong since late February.

The Sha Tin program begins at 1 a.m. Eastern on Sunday or 10 p.m. Pacific on Saturday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

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