Golden Sixty's form points to great chance in the Classic Mile

Day one of a new decade at Sha Tin was marked by notable successes for emerging talent, with Hong Kong's newest trainer and rider claiming centre stage along with a handful of highly promising young horses.

Golden Sixty was the headline act in the Group 3 feature over 1,400m, uncoiling his trademark turn of foot and bounding clear of the bang-in-form Fat Turtle to make it seven wins from eight starts, and the promise of even better to come.

Francis Lui's gelding faces a new test when he bids for the Classic Mile on January 27 but an extra 200m seems unlikely to trouble him, and his new mark of 112 is equal to or higher than seven of the last ten winners carried into the race.

Lui has another strong improver in More Than This, now rated 97 after three strong wins under Karis Teetan this season.

Teetan has struck up a fine relationship with the former Richard Fahey gelding but is set to give way to Ryan Moore for the Classic Mile, while Vincent Ho's presence on Golden Sixty leaves Zac Purton free to partner impressive Happy Valley debut winner Private Secretary.

Piccone strikes early as Charity Go finally comes good

Tony Piccone is far from the most high profile rider to arrive in Hong Kong in recent years, but he did what several bigger names failed to do by partnering a winner on his first day as Charity Go stormed from last to first for a 24-1 success in the nightcap.

The chestnut (formerly known as Fortune's Pearl) had failed to reproduce his smart form for Andrew Balding, but responded to the Frenchman's distinctive style to gain his first win at the 14th attempt.

Piccone also had two third places on the first day of a two-month contract and reports suggested he would partner Private Secretary in a valuable Class 2 next weekend.

"It's very important on my first day," said Piccone. "Before today I liked Hong Kong – now I love it!"

Numbers game puts Whyte on the fast track

Douglas Whyte won the last Hong Kong race of 2019 with Last Kingdom and followed up by landing the opening contest of 2020 with Iron Boy.

Douglas Whyte: fourth in the trainers' table on 19 winners despite having had fewer runners than his 21 training rivalsCredit: Vince Caligiuri / Getty Images

The Durban Demon's seamless transition from riding to training continued with Super Wealthy's success in the Chinese Banyan Handicap and several key metrics suggest something significant is building at Olympic Stables sited just off Sha Tin's home turn.

Now fourth in the trainers' table on 19 winners despite having had fewer runners (135) than his 21 training rivals, Whyte has saddled ten winners at a strike rate of 20 per cent over the last ten meetings with a 42 per cent place rate during the same period.

Those are very impressive numbers in a handicap culture and the fact that 25 of his 58 horses in work are still unraced in Hong Kong suggests Whyte has every chance of breaking into the top three and staying there with well over half the season still to run.

Croissant looks a tasty French fancy with Badel booked

Sunday's Sha Tin finale should provide more Classic clues as the Broadwood Handicap at 9am features several useful imports from Britain and Australia seeking to strike early for new connections.

Irish Guineas third Decrypt is bound to be popular with Zac Purton up after a promising Hong Kong debut for Frankie Lor, while Beauty Legacy's smart Aussie form has earned him a lofty opening mark of 92 on his first run for John Size.

Decrypt: the Irish Guineas third is bound to be popular with Zac Purton upCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Size has another live player at the bottom of the weights in Beauty Rush, but this is wide open and it would come as no surprise to see Mr Croissant go close at a fair price on his debut over 1,400m.

Chris So's gelding has been running very well for some while, winning a strong Class 2 over 1,200m, which worked out a treat, then finishing fourth after a slightly messy run last month.

In-form Frenchman Alexis Badel takes over for the first time and stall six looks a bonus in a race that features several front-runners.

Patience pays off for 146-1 McMunigal

Patience is a virtue and those who kept faith with McMunigal were finally rewarded on the first day of a new year.

The five-year-old finished second in Group 3 company for Ger Lyons gelding as a juvenile but hadn't won in 14 outings in Hong Kong going into Wednesday's Yew Handicap, having dropped from a mark of 80 to 31.

Market confidence was non existent but the Epaulette gelding battled home willingly to give Jack Wong his first winner since October – at 146-1.

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