Frankie Lor is hopeful Regal Gem (120lb) can secure a hat-trick of wins in Tuesday\u2019s (23 December) HK$3.12 million Class 2 Neptune Handicap (1650m) at Happy Valley, provided the three-year-old overcomes a significant rise in distance and the seasoned opposition trying to stop him. <\/p>
Yet to race beyond 1400m in Hong Kong, Zoustar gelding Regal Gem was twice a winner pre-import in Great Britain, saluting at Pontefract and Haydock as a two-year-old. He closed out his European campaign with a fifth placing in Group 3 level at the Curragh in July, 2024.<\/p>
The 83-rated gelding is a three-time winner at Happy Valley, including successive Class 3 scores this term, from eight overall appearances in Hong Kong. He is the joint-leader of the 2025\/26 DBS x Manulife Million Challenge on 36 points along with King Miles, and victory this week would net Regal Gem a crucial 15 points in the competition, which concludes on 4 February, 2026.\u00a0<\/p>
Lor said: \u201cHis form is good. We\u2019ve changed jockeys because Derek Leung is suspended, so I\u2019ve put Zac Purton on. It\u2019s his first time racing over 1650 (metres) because there are no other races for him in Class 2 \u2013 so we need to try.<\/p>
\u201cHe might be able to handle the distance at Happy Valley. 1400 (metres) would be no problem, but in this race, the pace should be quick, so it should be ok,\u201d Lor said.<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column]
Regal Gem surges to victory with Derek Leung aboard.<\/p>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Nearing 500 wins in Hong Kong, Lor saddles nine runners on Tuesday. Regal Gem, raced by the Everest Syndicate, is eligible for the Four-Year-Old Classic Series \u2013 beginning on 1 February with the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) \u2013 should his trainer opt to head that way.<\/p>
Symbol Of Strength (130lb) is also a soon-to-be four-year-old. The Irish-bred \u2013 who contests the Class 3 Uranus Handicap (1200m) \u2013 is yet to win from four attempts in Hong Kong. \u00a0<\/p>
Lor said: \u201cHe ran well in his last two starts at Happy Valley, and his form is good, but last time he was stuck inside with nowhere to go. James Orman is on him this time.\u201d<\/p>
Money Catcher (121lb) \u2013 a dual Group 3 winner for Lor \u2013 features in the Class 3 Saturn Handicap (2200m). The earner of HK$20.72 million has raced 47 times in Hong Kong and is twice placed at Group 1 level.<\/p>
Lor said: \u201cI always want to try and get prize money for the owner, but his form is good.\u201d<\/p>
Pierre Ng is represented by four-time winner I Can (115lb) in the Neptune Handicap. The 78-rater won three runs back over tomorrow night\u2019s course and distance.<\/p>
Ng said: \u201cHe was a bit unlucky last start with the slow pace and he was too far back, but he did chase up really well and he ran some nice sectionals. We\u2019re giving him a try this week because he gets a light weight. He\u2019ll finish off well with a good run. Matthew Poon rides him.\u201d<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”6702″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Ng is also looking forward to stable star Galaxy Patch returning on 25 January in the HK$13 million G1 Stewards\u2019 Cup (1600m) \u2013 the Triple Crown\u2019s first leg \u2013 after he was fifth in the HK$36 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (1600m) on 14 December behind Voyage Bubble.<\/p>
\u201cHe ran okay. He\u2019s pulled up well from that run and we\u2019ll go for the Stewards\u2019 Cup \u2013 so we\u2019ll be against Voyage Bubble and Romantic Warrior. It\u2019s a hot race. If he runs his race, then hopefully, he can get us some prize money. We\u2019ll keep him happy and let\u2019s see how he goes,\u201d Ng said.<\/p>
David Hayes is looking to enhance the record of Soleil Fighter (126lb) \u2013 a three-time winner at Happy Valley last season \u2013 in the Neptune Handicap. The 89-rated son of Sea The Moon placed second to prolific winner Hong Lok Golf at Sha Tin last month.<\/p>
Hayes said: \u201cHe probably ran a career-best race the other day. He was just beaten by a nice horse, and I think he\u2019s very effective at the Valley.\u201d<\/p>
Tuesday\u2019s (23 December) nine-race fixture at Happy Valley kicks off at 6.40pm with the Class 5 Mercury Handicap (1200m).<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”6701″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Frankie Lor is hopeful Regal Gem (120lb) can secure a hat-trick of wins in Tuesday\u2019s (23 December) HK$3.12 million Class 2 Neptune Handicap (1650m) at Happy Valley, provided the three-year-old overcomes a significant rise in distance and the seasoned opposition trying to stop him. Yet to race beyond 1400m in Hong… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":6703,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"2normal","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-million-challenge\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6699"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-million-challenge\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-million-challenge\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-million-challenge\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-million-challenge\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6699"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-million-challenge\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6710,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-million-challenge\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6699\/revisions\/6710"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-million-challenge\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-million-challenge\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-million-challenge\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-million-challenge\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}