Irish imports continue to shine as Playa Del Puente skates in

Irish imports are hitting the headlines in Hong Kong and hard on the heels of Rise High and Waikuku thwarting the mighty Beauty Generation last weekend, there was another notable success at Happy Valley on Wednesday.

Playa Del Puente won three out of four for Michael Halford – earning a Racing Post rating of 104 for his Listed success in March – and made it third time lucky in Hong Kong when making all and bounding clear of several smart rivals in the £200,000 Green Luck Handicap.

Securing a soft early lead clearly helped the Elzaam gelding, as did the fact that he was getting plenty of weight from most of his rivals, but Joao Moreira was impressed and trainer Danny Shum hopes Playa Del Puente has the makings of a BMW Hong Kong Derby Horse for 2020.

This success clearly represents a step in the right direction, as evidenced by a 9lb rise to a mark of 90. History relates that Derby hopefuls need to be rated 100-plus going into the race, but Playa Del Puente has clearly adapted to his new home quickly and is unlikely to be wrapped in cotton wool given his handler’s usual bold methods.

Elusive State in great shape for return to perfect trip

Glorious Artist, a useful British import, is bound to be popular for Sunday’s Kwangtung Cup at Sha Tin.

The clocks going back mean this Class 2 contest goes off at 5.45 in Britain and Ireland but it features several smart horses and Zac Purton seems to have chosen former Charlie Hills winner Glorious Artist ahead of impressive course-and-distance winner Buddies.

Elusive State: the improving Tony Millard-trained gelding could go close in the Kwangtung Cup at Sha TinCredit: Hong Kong Jockey Club

However, perhaps the most interesting horse of the day is Elusive State, who has improved relentlessly since joining Tony Millard.

Elusive State looked exposed off a mark of 57 on joining the South African last year but is a different horse in more ways than one nowadays, gaining almost 90lb in body weight while racking up four wins and several fine efforts in defeat.

His rise up the handicap has been equally striking – from 57 to 96 with four wins en route – and he looked better than ever on his reappearance last month when chasing home former Tom Dascombe sprinter Big Time Baby.

Elusive State clearly found 1,200m too sharp that day but came home very strongly under Moreira. The return to 1,650m is a big plus, as is a low draw, and the added likelihood of a strong pace means all is set fair for him to go very close.

Travel on the menu as hungry Shinn spreads his wings

They say there is no such thing as a free lunch but Hong Kong rider Blake Shinn clearly has no qualms about taking a nine-hour flight for what could end up as a tasty but frustrating dinner.

Shinn is booked for the ride on Humidor in Saturday’s Cox Plate at Moonee Valley in Melbourne but the seven-year-old – second and third behind the mighty Winx in the last two Cox Plates – is only first reserve this time and Shinn has no other booked rides on the card.

Blake Shinn: booked for the ride on Humidor, reserve for Saturday’s Cox Plate at Moonee Valley in MelbourneCredit: Cameron Spencer (Getty Images)

“Blake didn’t want to let anyone down,” said Humidor’s part-owner Brae Sokolski. “If Humidor doesn’t make the field Blake won’t even come to the races, but regardless we will have a nice dinner on Friday night.”

Well fed or otherwise, Shinn will be back for five rides at Sha Tin on Sunday and Silver Fig looks an interesting contender for the Guangzhou Handicap at 7.40.

A stablemate of Elusive State, the grey was left in a poor position after being badly checked on his latest start but stayed on well for third and remains fairly treated from a mark of 79.

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