From RACING POST HK
John Size is as good as anyone at bringing horses successfully back in distance and Khaya looks placed to showcase that talent in the Cafeteria Handicap (1,600m) at Sha Tin this afternoon.
Khaya (Joao Moreira) has been through a preparation geared towards a possible start in the Derby, which he missed, and then the Queen Mother Memorial Cup at 2,400m, which might be a question mark with many trainers.
But Khaya has the right trainer to drop back so sharply in distance, and Size, for his part, also has the horse capable of doing it effectively.
For one thing, the records show that Khaya, for all his aspirations as a stayer, has had just three runs at 1,600m for two wins and a second.
Khaya's key talent is his tactical ability to take up a position in the first few runners over just about any distance from a mile up and the final event on Sunday looks best suited to that kind of horse.
In addition, he has drawn in the outer part of the field and, when he has drawn out in the past, Khaya has actually found it easier to get near the lead.
He isn't a perfect beginner - as he showed when defeated in the Queen Mother Memorial after a slow getaway - which can be an issue for horses drawn lower, who then need to be bustled along to find their forward spot, but he should get an opportunity to sit handy and in touch with the early speed.
John Moore-trained Business As Usual is a regulation lead-runner who should press forward and set just a reasonably even speed, and he and Khaya look the most likely frontrunners over lower-drawn Fat Choy Hong Kong, who looks more likely to take the box seat.
With more pace than that, Khaya would be able to sit behind and finish off.
Certainly his danger, Moore-trained Travel Brother (Tommy Berry), has had a few more complications to his running style so far, as he too went through a Derby prep that included running in the classic but from a horror draw.