Telecom Fighter starting to turn the corner

A trio of Class 3 handicaps bring to a close the third-to-last race card of the 2020-21 Hong Kong season, and race 9, the finale, looks the most interesting of them.

All three contests are for horses rated 80-60, races 7 and 8 carded for 1,200 meters, race 9 at 1,650 meters, one circuit around the Happy Valley course. First post for the program is 6:45 a.m. Eastern with live video and wagering at DRFBets.com.

Top rated in race 9 is Telecom Fighter, a 4-year-old Australian-bred closing his first season racing in Hong Kong, and after eight losses to start the term, Telecom Fighter really got the hang of things, winning three of his last four outings and two in a row coming into Wednesday. Telecom Fighter’s trainer, Me Tsui Yu-sak, has really squeezed every bit of juice from the gelding’s Class 3 eligibility.

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Telecom Fighter was rated 63 when he won for the first time, notching a course-and-distance success while going wire to wire under just 115 pounds. That led to a six-point ratings hike, but Telecom Fighter held firm at 69 after fading to fifth in his next outing. A narrow, front-running victory May 26 at Happy Valley produced a five-point rating rise, but Telecom Fighter had no trouble lugging 127 pounds to a clear victory on June 23.

Now rated 80, Telecom Fighter barely scrapes into Class 3 eligibility, and while he’s assigned top weight of 133 pounds Wednesday, his connections get five pounds taken off that impost by switching from leading rider Joao Moreira to five-pound apprentice Victor Wong Chun. There’s no reason to foresee a change in running style, given all Telecom Fighter’s recent success, and expect him to come out running from post 8.

Everyone’s Delight, a New Zealand-bred 4-year-old, also has lately been a sharp horse, winning a 1,400-meter Class 3 at Sha Tin three starts ago and leading all the way June 9 in a 1,650-meter Happy Valley start. Everyone’s Delight pummeled his rivals by 2 1/2 lengths that night and gets jockey Zac Purton on Wednesday while pulling 10 pounds from Telecom Fighter.

The Hulk, from the stables of leading trainer Caspar Fownes, won two in a row in May at Sha Tin but has shown far less fondness for one-lap Happy Valley races in four such starts.