The former Australian galloper Winning King has been working up to something and a drop in class coincides nicely for him with the Hong Kong Football Club Centenary Challenge Cup (1,200m) at Happy Valley tonight, says Racing Post HK.
Winning King (Keith Yeung Ming-lun) won three races from six starts before departing Queensland and that stands him in good stead for the calibre of opposition he meets tonight.
Trainer Danny Shum Chap-shing has taken his time with the four-year-old, who wasn't ready to do much at two runs late last season and he was gelded after his first appearance this season in September.
Reappearing in January, Winning King has looked to have his act together somewhat more, improving each time, and his latest effort behind Let Me Do advertised that he is ready to be a player.
Drawn low in a race where the speed horses came across from wider out, Winning King kept the rail all the way but got shuffled back through the field before making up some ground in the run down the straight.
That was not an overstrong Class Three but he now drops into an equally undistinguished bunch of Class Four horses, with a map that should serve him well.
The main speed looks Planet Choice (Alvin Ng Ka-chun) and The Prince (Zac Purton), while Yo-Yo Da(Nash Rawiller) will likely look to keep the box seat and that should see Winning King one-out and one-back and poised on the home turn to bring his finish and open his winning account here.
The obvious danger is Yo-Yo Da, who appears to have come back a stronger horse following a decent break after last season. After a good effort winning first-up from a similar box seat run at Sha Tin, he was then very solid working over to sit outside the leader and eventual winner, Multimax, and finish second to him.