The Class 2 Lung Kong Handicap (1600m) features nine horses eligible, by virtue of age, for the crowning leg of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series, which kicks off three weeks from now with the Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m).
Not only is that bunch eligible but it also includes some of the biggest buzz horses on the stable block; big money imports from hemispheres north and south such as Tigre Du Terre, Furore, Heavenly Thought , Charity Go and Ka Ying Star (who was known as Urban Aspect when he won at York for Andrew Balding last August).
Tigre Du Terre arrived in the Caspar Fownes yard after winning a strong Sandown handicap from a BHA mark of 98 for Richard Hannon last July and his new handler has his eyes fixed firmly on the Derby.
Click here to watch Tigre Du Terre signing off his British career in style at Sandown
“There’s no doubt he’s a Derby horse,” Fownes said. “We’ll see what happens on the weekend and we’ll decide what we do with him - whether to go for the whole series or mix and choose between the first two races, the Classic Mile (1600m) and Classic Cup (1800m).
“He’s not nailed on for the Classic Mile, but obviously, if he comes out and wins this race well we’ll go there because there’s big money for the owner, but the big target is the Derby,” he said.
Sent off at 141/1 for his Sha Tin debut on 9 December, the Le Havre rig ran a nose second to the talented five-year-old Insayshable. Dark Dream, subsequently impressive when winning over 2000m late last month, was just behind in third with re-opposing peers Charity Go, Classic Beauty, Easy Go Easy Win and Helene Leadingstar behind in a bunched finish.
“He’s made a lot of progress, he’s going really well. His first-up performance was outstanding and he appears to have come on in heaps,” Fownes said.
Jockey Alexis Badel backed up that assessment.
“It was excellent the way he ran,” the Frenchman said. “The pace was a bit slow so maybe some of the horses in the race were unlucky but he ran very well so I hope he can repeat and find some improvement. He’s a talented horse.”
Purton the Go-to man for Charity
Zac Purton will take the ride on Charity Go for the first time following the gelding’s two eye-catching efforts in defeat since arriving from Britain, where he raced as Fortune’s Pearl for Balding.
“He’s an exciting horse; I think we’ve got a really good bunch of four-year-olds this year and he’s one of them,” said Purton.
“Both his starts have been good. He’s probably shown his versatility - he’s raced from the front and the back. I thought he closed the race off quite nicely last time.”
And with the Classic Series in mind, the champion jockey said: “This race will give a good indication of where he’s at. He’s got a nice draw (three) so we don’t need to be in a hurry to get a position, I’ll just allow him to be where he’s comfortable, wherever that might be.”
