Ruggero won his dirt-course debut in an eventful running of Saturday’s $170,894 Cattleya Sho at Tokyo Racecourse, the first race of a three-race series that could produce a Japanese-based runner for the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 5.

Ruggero won the one-mile race by a half-length over Mic Ben Hur. Meiner Yukitsubaki, a colt by 2012 Kentucky Derby winner I’ll Have Another, finished third in the field of eight, a nose behind Mic Ben Hur.

Fifty Fifty, among the more promising lightly raced horses this Hong Kong season, steps up to Class 1 competition for the first time when he starts in the Sunday feature at Sha Tin.

Fifty Fifty is one of 10 horses in the $256,137 Chevalier Cup Handicap, a 1600-meter (about 1 mile) Class 1 that’s the sixth of 10 races on the program. Post time for the Chevalier Cup is 3:40 a.m. Eastern while the card kicks off at 11:45 p.m. Saturday, earlier than normal for a Sha Tin Sunday.

Meiner Yukitsubaki, a colt by 2012 Kentucky Derby winner I’ll Have Another, is part of a projected field of eight in Saturday’s $170,894 Cattleya Sho at Tokyo Racecourse, the first race of a three-race series that could produce a Japan-based runner for the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 5.

The qualifying series was introduced last year, but there was not a Japan-based runner in the Kentucky Derby in May. A similar series will begin in Europe this winter, with one berth available to a horse that earns points in races in England, France, and Ireland.

SHA TIN SELECTIONS

(Sunday, November 26, 2017)

RACE 1: #7 Super Missile, #2 Zero Hedge, #5 Hero Time, #12 Beaut Beaut

RACE 2: #8 Nice Kick, #6 Better Choice, #1 Pick Number One, #3 High Volatility

RACE 3: #1 High Five, #7 Moment Of Power, #3 Big Time Baby, #5 Super Man

RACE 4: #14 Enjoy Life, #2 Leisured Feet, #6 Sacred Ibis, #3 Everest

RACE 5: #6 Roman Odyssey, #8 Strathclyde, #1 Star Of Yan Oi, #5 Super Wise

Kitasan Black gave legendary Japanese jockey Yutaka Take a record fourth win in the Grade 1 Japan Cup in 2016. The same partnership will be favored to win Sunday’s $5.8 million Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse in an international field with runners from Australia, Germany, and Ireland.

Kitasan Black, the 2016 Japanese Horse of the Year, leads a home team that includes key contenders in Rey de Oro, the winner of the Japanese Derby in May, and Satono Crown, the winner of Group 1 races in Hong Kong and Japan in the last year.

Two Breeders’ Cup winners, Talismanic and Stormy Liberal, are among 55 horses selected for the four Group 1 stakes Dec. 10 at Sha Tin that comprise the Hong Kong International Races.

The selected horses include 32 international shippers from Asia, Europe, and North America, and 23 Hong Kong-based horses.

Super Fluke has started his 2017 – 2018 Hong Kong campaign with two wins in a row at Sha Tin Racecourse, which means it will be very tough for him to make it three straight when he takes his talents to Happy Valley Racecourse on Wednesday night.

Super Fluke is one of 12 entrants in the main body of race 7, the penultimate race among eight Wednesday at Happy Valley, and one of three Class 3 handicaps, each offering a purse of more than $167,000.

HAPPY VALLEY SELECTIONS

(Wednesday, November 22, 2017)

RACE 1: #2 Scarborough Fair, #1 A Fast One, #10 Glory Horsie, #9 Haymaker

RACE 2: #4 Savannah Wind, #7 Le Panache, #8 Sweet Bean, #2 Audacity

RACE 3: #2 California Aspar, #10 Peace Combination, #11 Our Honour, #7 The Full Bloom

RACE 4: #6 Golden Effort, #12 Happy Happy, #3 All You Know, #1 Happy Happy Star

RACE 5: #4 Sangria, #3 Sichuan Boss, #8 Empire Star, #11 Multigogo

Werther,  Mr Stunning, and Seasons Bloom emerged as winners of the three Group 2 stakes run Sunday at Sha Tin, and the first two of those horses in particular stand a good chance of finding more success three weeks from now in the Hong Kong International Races.