Graham Cunningham's Hong Kong briefing: all the news about Sha Tin on Saturday

All in all, just another routine week on the Hong Kong beat.

Events in the real world pricked the racing bubble on Wednesday when fears of potentially violent demonstrations – heightened by the presence of a horse owned by pro-establishment lawmaker Junius Kwan-yiu Ho – caused the midweek fixture at Happy Valley to be cancelled.

Ho held out an olive branch on Thursday, agreeing not to run his useful sprinter Hong Kong Bet for the time being while adding an intriguing personal twist by saying that “we are talking about human rights every day but animals also have their fundamental rights”.

Happy Valley: a breathtaking track in the heart of Hong KongCredit: Vince Caligiuri

Friday brought news that Betfair Australia have abandoned their recent decision to start trading exchange markets on Hong Kong racing with immediate effect, backing down after the HKJC sent an open letter earlier his month demanding that it should cease and desist from operating on its product.

And, to the relief of many, this Saturday sees normal service resumed with a ten-race card at Sha Tin featuring some familiar European imports and a £200,000 Class 2 handicap to top the bill at 9.05.

Noble and King can lord it in feature

The first thing to note about the featured Pok Oi Centenary Cup is that champion jockey Zac Purton has been unable to snare a ride.

And the second thing to note is that more than half the field are confirmed hold-up horses who are by no means guaranteed to get the strong gallop that suits them best.

Former Brazilian Group 1 winner Harmony Victory can produce a powerful finish when the pace is hot, as evidenced by his signoff win over course and distance last season, but Danny Shum’s gelding has to give plenty of weight to smart rivals in a race that may not play to his strengths.

The jury is definitely out as to whether Joao Moreira’s mount Star Performance is as good as he looked when taking advantage of a fierce gallop on his debut in July, but Noble Steed and King Opie both have plenty to recommend them at their best.

Noble Steed looked very promising when quickening smartly from the rear to win here in the spring. His trainer Francis Lui has made a flying start to the new season, while King Opie failed to fire after a tardy start on his reappearance but comes firmly into the mix if back on song.

Beauty lies in wait as trial season heats up

Barrier trials have provided a couple of valuable pointers to winners in Ireland of late and the morning dress rehearsals are beginning to move up a gear in Hong Kong as well.

Mercurial Group 1 winner Pakistan Star looked good in sweeping home ahead of last year’s Hong Kong Derby principals Furore and Waikuku in an all-weather dress rehearsal on Tuesday morning and is pencilled in for a daring return to sprinting after one more morning trial.

Useful Irish import Playa Del Puente looked on the right track when winning a Happy Valley trial early on Friday, while 2018 Derby runner-up Singapore Sling looked strong in winning his trial a little later in the same session.

Beauty Generation: will be put through his paces at Sha Tin next TuesdayCredit: Hkjc

It’s a measure of how good Hong Kong’s master miler Beauty Generation is that he will have to concede at least 20lb to Singapore Sling, Furore and Waikuku when they meet in the Celebration Cup at Sha Tin on October 1.

John Moore’s stable star hasn’t appeared on the trial list so far this autumn but will be put through his paces at Sha Tin next Tuesday morning along with his unbeaten and highly promising young sprinting stablemate Aethero.

Sectionals suggest Winner has more to give

Data is king for Hong Kong form students and the provisional use of detailed sectional times for every runner in every race has been part of the landscape for decades.

Horses who finish strongly seduce many punters, just as they do in the rest of the racing world, but spotting those who deserve upgrading having gone off too fast can be just as noteworthy.

Step forward Winner Supreme, who went off very hard on his reappearance two weeks ago and clocked a rapid 21.61sec for his middle 400m under Aussie rider Blake Shinn before fading into third behind the well-regarded Silver Fig close home.

Shinn’s suspension means Karis Teetan comes in for the ride aboard the lightly raced four-year-old in Saturday’s Tin Shui Wai Handicap at 10.10. It’s highly likely that Winner Supreme will go to the front again from stall 4, and ifTeetan can ration his energy a little more evenly he could take some catching.

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