Tough-trip win vaults Sky Darci to top rating in Class 3 handicap

There’s little more reviled and feared withing Hong Kong racing than a three-wide trip with no cover. Getting caught that far outside going around a turn without a horse in front to aid as a windbreak is a no-no, but it made no difference whatsoever to Sky Darci on Oct. 28 at Happy Valley.

Three wide with no cover all the way around the one turn of a 1,200-meter Class 3 handicap, Sky Darci chugged along heedlessly and won by 1 1/4 lengths. So definitive was this triumph, the Hong Kong Jockey Club handicappers gave Sky Darci a major nine-point ratings boost, putting him up to 80 for race 8 on Wednesday at Happy Valley, and vaulting him to the top of another 1,200-meter handicap open to horses rated 80-60. Sky Darci must tote 133 pounds but at least has a better draw, 7, than the 12 post that led to all the ground loss last month.

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Joao Moreira rides Sky Darci for Caspar Fownes, leading trainer so far this Hong Kong season with 21 wins entering Wednesday’s eight-race card, which starts at 7:15 a.m. Eastern. Wagering and live video can be found at DRFBets.com.

It’s not merely the Oct. 28 performance that points out Sky Darci. The 4-year-old New Zealand-bred gelding by Darci Brahma now has won half his six Hong Kong starts while twice finishing second. He won over 1,400 meters at Sha Tin but seems happiest going 1,200 meters at the Valley, where three such starts have yielded two wins and a runner-up finish.

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Race 7 has the same conditions as race 8, while race 6, a third Class 3 for horses rated 80-60, is a two-turn, 1,650-meter contest. Top-rated here are Happy My Brother, a first-time Hong Kong starter who most recently finished sixth of 16 in the New Zealand Derby last Feb. 29; Reel Bizzy, who has raced competitively in three losses at this class level and distance this season; and World Famous, a front-running type who mainly raced over longer distances last season.

* Classique Legend, who won the Everest Stakes in Australia on Oct. 17, arrived in Hong Kong on Nov. 10 to take up residence in the stable of trainer Caspar Fownes. The 5-year-old gelding is being aimed at the Hong Kong Sprint next month.