By Alan Carasso
Trainer John Size has won the Hong Kong Classic Cup, the second leg of the 4-year-old Triple Crown, no fewer than four times and he'll saddle two of the top fancies as he looks for his first victory in the race since Sun Jewellery (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}) in 2011 Sunday afternoon at Sha Tin Racecourse.
Helios Express (Aus) (Toronado {Ire}) is the lone member of the 14-strong field rated in triple figures (102), has won six of his eight lifetime starts and three of his last four. Drawn neatly in gate two Sunday, the bay was impressive in defeating Class 2 rivals over a mile Jan. 7 and backed up the performance with a 1 3/4-length defeat of Helene Feeling (Ire) (Sioux Nation) and a running-on Star Mac (Aus) (Heroic Valour {Aus}) in a slowly run renewal of the Hong Kong Classic Mile four weeks back. The 1800 metres of Sunday's test is as far as he's been, and he'll need to switch off better if he is to see it out, his connections admit.
Size said: “We're trying to adapt to a distance and to a tempo, which always is an issue for the jockeys who manage the horse through the race, so it depends on the circumstances on the day and what sections they run during the race. So far, he's been okay.”
Size's second entry, Ensued (Lemon Drop Kid), will look to become the first US-bred to take the Classic Cup since Zaidan (Street Cry {Ire}) back in 2012. Placed twice from three overseas runs for James Fanshawe, the bay gelding broke his maiden on local debut over 1800 metres last October and–equally unusually–already owns two victories over the BMW Hong Kong Derby trip of 2000 metres. A horse that grinds it out, he just missed in Class 2 over the metric 10 furlongs, but tries restricted company for the first time in Hong Kong.
“He's been quite unusual the way he came into Hong Kong and won immediately at a distance, that doesn't happen too often so he's sort of stamped himself as one who has adapted to Hong Kong quite quickly,” Size said. “[Being] just a little bit one-paced is probably the chink in his armour, he just doesn't have enough acceleration. But, with that, as long as he's running in a forward position and running freely, that's okay.”
Two other American-breds are rough chances, Chancheng Glory (Mor Spirit) and Unbelievable (Justify).
Chill Chibi (NZ) (Wrote {Ire}) posted four straight wins over the course of last season and this season at Happy Valley before having the streak snapped by subsequent G3 January Cup H. hero Happy Together (Ire) (Dragon Pulse {Ire}) Dec. 20. Having missed the Classic Mile via a minor setback, he makes his Sha Tin debut Sunday.
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