Saturday racing this weekend in Hong Kong and all eyes on the Panasonic Cup and the season’s return for John Size’s budding superstar Luger.
With five wins and two seconds from his seven starts over the past two seasons, Luger has been carefully managed by Size to ensure he did not rise too fast, too young in the tough Hong Kong environment where three-year-olds are always pitched in against older horses.
Luger’s assignments will be stepped up this campaign and not only is he against some fit, talented horses on Saturday, he will also be racing the shadow of a horse who is not there, Divine Calling. If there was pre-post betting on the Group One Classic Mile for four-year-olds in January, these two would be contesting favouritism but that status will depend on how Luger handles Beauty Flame and Dundonnell, the two horses Divine Calling beat under a stranglehold at his Hong Kong debut.
Zac Purton has served out his suspension so he, Joao Moreira and Douglas Whyte are all back in action, and Italians Andrea Atzeni and Umberto Rispoli join the roster.
Gerald Mosse has been in red hot form, with 8 winners from the last 3 meetings, but he may have to bow to others with better ammunition.
Moreira has a great book including John Moore’s promising three-year-old Dashing Fellow, who chased home outstanding Packing Pins first-up and looks the one to beat in the third. A number of key mounts for Moreira come up in the first half of the card, with strong claims on Tang Palace, Oriental Fantasia, Ah Bo and Star Majestic.
Key bookings for Purton as he sets out to close the Brazilian’s four-win gap in the championship will be Island Garden (race four) and Brilliant Shine (race nine), the latter being mentioned as Derby hopeful by his trainer Dennis Yip.
By Nathan Mody
