Western Express stands out in Jockey Club Community Trophy
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLEWhen he is not facing top 4-year-old Rapper Dragon, Western Express is having a great year in Hong Kong.
In five starts since late January, Western Express has won three races that did not involve Rapper Dragon and has finished 10th and 12th behind that rival in stakes.
Rapper Dragon is bound for the Group 1 Champions Mile in Hong Kong on May 7. Western Express has not progressed to that level, but does figure to be favored in Sunday’s $321,547 Hong Kong Jockey Club Community Trophy at seven furlongs on turf at Sha Tin Racecourse.
The Community Trophy has changed since entries were taken earlier this week. Invincible Dragon, one of two horses set to carry topweight of 133 pounds, will not start because of a swollen fetlock in his left foreleg, according to an announcement from the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
The Community Trophy is the fifth race on a 10-race program. Wagering is available on DRFBets.com.
Without Invincible Dragon, the Community Trust has a field of nine. Western Express, who will carry 132 pounds, will be ridden by Joao Moreira, the leading rider in Hong Kong, for John Size, who leads the trainer’s standings.
The 133-pound topweight is Lucky Year, a 5-year-old gelding who is winless in seven starts since a victory on the opening day of the Hong Kong season last September. Lucky Year was eighth of nine in the Group 2 Hong Kong Sprint Cup at six furlongs on turf on April 9.
Limitless, who will carry 120 pounds, has also been competitive in races not involving Rapper Dragon. A 4-year-old Irish-bred gelding, Limitless has one win in four starts in Hong Kong – a seven-furlong handicap on turf at Sha Tin on Feb. 19. Limitless was later third in a handicap at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Sha Tin on March 5 before finishing 13th behind Rapper Dragon in the Hong Kong Derby on March 19.
Limitless was scratched from the Group 2 Chairman’s Trophy on April 9 after becoming upset in the gate and losing a shoe. He was in the process of having the shoe reattached when swelling developed in a hind leg, leading to his withdrawal. The race was won by Rapper Dragon.
