Yee Cheong Baby has upside in wide-open Happy Valley feature

The Happy Valley race card of Nov. 13 was canceled because Hong Kong Jockey Club officials had concerns regarding the transport of employees and racegoers to and from the course during widespread street protests in Hong Kong. The civil unrest, if anything, has increased in volume and intensity over the last week, but as of Tuesday, the Nov. 20 races at Happy Valley still were on.

The nine-race card begins at 5:45 a.m. Eastern with the highest-class offering on the card, race 7, scheduled for 8:50 a.m. Eastern.

This is a Class 2 handicap worth $268,271 for horses rated 100-80 carded at a short 1000 meters around one turn at the small Happy Valley course.

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Competition runs deep among 12 entrants but the choice to win is Yee Cheong Baby, who has more upside than any of his rivals other than South African import Cue the Music, who, after two Hong Kong races, doesn’t yet seem up to contending in a race at this level.

Yee Cheong Baby is a 4-year-old Australian-bred by Sebring who has raced only four times in Hong Kong, winning both his races last season and finishing fifth and third in a pair of Class 2 handicaps this season. The first of those was a dirt experiment at Sha Tin and the more recent a race over Happy Valley turf, where Yee Cheong Baby led early from post 1, dropped back to second, came with a run into the homestretch to hit the front, only to be run down late by a pair of rivals.

Yee Cheong Baby’s somewhat awkward manner of cornering for home last out, which saw him float wide, is cause for concern, but there are reasons to think he can go better on Wednesday. Last time he had a stop-and-start trip from post 1 going 1200 meters, and this time he breaks from an outside gate, post 9, going 1000 meters. The shorter trip could mean everything to Yee Cheong Baby, but jockey Zac Purton probably has to coax his mount to rate a bit just off the other speed, since Little Bird, Moment of Power, and Speed Vision all could be bound for the front end. Yee Cheong Baby is rated at 97 and carries a challenging 130 pounds, but this could be his night.

Victorious in the race where Yee Cheong Baby finished third was Speedy King, who also is part of the field Wednesday. Speedy King, who also comes with a 97 rating, was up late in that 1200-meter tilt but has two wins going 1000 meters at Happy Valley and is a threat to repeat.

Top-rated Saul’s Special (100) is burdened with 133 pounds and has turned in flat performances in his two starts this season, but most of the best work he’s done in Hong Kong has come in 1000-meter races at Happy Valley.

The John Size-trained Tornado Twist can’t be counted out because he always runs competitive races, with four wins, two seconds, two thirds, and two fourths in his 10 Hong Kong starts. Tornado Twist finished fourth Oct. 23 in his seasonal bow but is an unknown quantity at a distance as short as 1000 meters having raced only at 1200 and 1400 meters during his time in Hong Kong.