Luke Middlebrook
There is a highly competitive card at Happy Valley in Hong Kong on Wednesday but all eyes will be on the final race, the Class 2 1200m Handicap, where thriving three-year-old Campione will be aiming for a local hat-trick of wins.
The Tony Cruz-trained youngster has hit the ground running in Hong Kong after arriving unbeaten from three starts under the name Windstormblack in Italy - his last win there a five-length romping in a Group 3 1200m after a 14-length demolition job in a Three-Year-Old Handicap, all the while showing brilliant tactical speed on each occasion.
Finishing a good fourth on debut in Hong Kong in early March, he then went three places better second-up when winning well by leading from pillar to post in a Class 3 1200m Handicap.
Third-up, he took to the all-weather track where he won comfortably by 1.50 lengths, again making all after stepping away from barrier No 12.
Campione has since turned in a solid trial while his early toe will give him every chance to win again this week as he looks the clear leader.
His main adversaries will come from trainer David Hayes’ talented four-year-old Lucky With You who returned to winning ways over this distance at Sha Tin last time, while Mclucky looks a big second-up improver after a wide trip first-up over an unsuitable 1000m but trialling the house down since.
Trainer Frankie Lor’s smart three-year-old Eason is another who can show early speed and he rises to Class 2 for the first time after stringing together two impressive Class 3 victories.
Elsewhere, trainer Danny Shum’s six-year-old Harmony N Home looks poised for a return to the winner’s circle in the Class 4 1200m Handicap (Race 5).
Harmony N Home has not won for 420 days but is at his third start back into Class 4 and he enters the race on a mark of 55 – his last win occurring on a handicap rating of 64, so he is very well-placed at the moment.
Despite having not placed in eight starts this season, he has been drawn horribly wide in six of those starts, stepping away from no lower than barrier No 10 while drawn in barrier No 11 on three occasions and widest in barrier No 12 in two races.
Still, he has caught the eye late in many of those runs in Class 3, all the while sliding down the ratings.
Harmony N Home enters today’s race off the back of a slashing fourth place from barrier NO 11 under Zac Purton, who commits to the ride again this week but has been handed a much kinder drawn in barrier No 4. Purton has been the sole rider to win on Harmony N Home, having guided the gelding in his two career victories.
Luke Middlebrook’s Selections:
Race 1: 5-1-3-6
Race 2: 1-9-2-5
Race 3: 9-4-5-2
Race 4: 7-3-8-2
Race 5: 2-7-6-8
Race 6: 9-1-6-5
Race 7: 1-5-8-10
Race 8: 4-3-6-7
Race 9: 4-7-9-11