Super Sixty bids to extend Golden run at Sha Tin

The feature event on the first day of 2020 at Sha Tin brings together two Group 1 winners and several of the most talked-about young prospects around.

Seasons Bloom heads the weights for the Chinese Club Challenge Cup, but he has to give 16lb and 20lb to Fat Turtle and Golden Sixty and recent evidence suggests that will prove a tall order.

Fat Turtle moves up in trip after a couple of smart wins underJoaoMoreira. It's notable that the magic man switches to Champion's Way this time, but whether that decision pays dividends with Golden Sixty in opposition remains to be seen.

Sha Tin's ten-race card on Wednesday

Francis Lui's gelding has built an impressive profile with six wins from seven starts, and his latest success – where he stalked and pounced to rattle off the fastest closing 400m of the day under Vincent Ho – was typical of his rapid progress.

A further 8lb rise was only to be expected for his first venture into Group 3 company, but Golden Sixty is one of the most progressive young horses in town and his turn of foot could prove crucial again if regular front-runners Encouraging and Ka Ying Star get to work early.

Party in full swing as Group 1 target beckons

Moreira was absent from Sunday's Sha Tin card due to a bout of flu and Grant Van Niekerk stepped in for a fluent victory on Big Party, who followed up a pre-Christmas Happy Valley romp with an equally impressive win in the Group 3 Bauhinia Sprint Trophy.

Frankie Lor's muscular grey was receiving weight from placed horses Big Time Baby and Thanks Forever, but the way that he cruised clear of that pair was highly encouraging.

Lor will take his time before deciding whether to pitch Big Party in against stablemate Mr Stunning and the rest of Hong Kong's elite 1,200m horses in the Group 1 Centenary Sprint Cup on January 25, and is hoping his former hit-and-miss ways are behind him.

Frankie Lor (second left) and Zac Purton are in action at Sha TinCredit: Hkjc

"He has had issues with his back and knees, but at the moment everything is okay," he said. Meanwhile, the upwardly mobile Van Niekerk feels Big Party "is good enough to take on the big guns".

He added: "He didn't take on the best but he won with authority and that must count."

Quadruple aiming for a famous foursome

Two notable recent trends are set to be broken in Wednesday's Chinese Banyan Handicap at 7.50.

The first is that Lucky More, unlike on his three starts so far, will not be going off at odds-on. The second is that Quadruple Double, unlike on his last three starts, will not be jumping from stall one.

Lucky More has started at 1.5, 1.8 and 1.7 in a trio of runs for Zac Purton. He was very impressive over 1,000m on the second occasion, but was turned over either side and paid the price for doing too much too soon when fading into fifth on his latest run.

Purton felt Lucky More was "driven mad" by being pressured for the lead that day and will be keen for a more relaxed trip this time, but that's far from assured with Quadruple Double and Team Spirit in opposition.

Moreira partners the well-handicapped Team Spirit for the first time, while Quadruple Double is on a roll after three wins in his last four starts, the latest an emphatic defeat of a subsequent winner with bang-in-form horses in third, fourth and fifth.

Joao Moreira: partners Team SpiritCredit: Edward Whitaker

Quadruple Double is a natural front-runner who hasn't been so lucky in the draw this time with stall eight. However, the style of his latest win suggests that he's still improving and another bold bid looks highly likely as he bids to become the first Hong Kong horse to win four times this season.

Out with the old as Lyle strikes late

Hong Kong's final race of 2019 provided one of the feelgood stories of the season as 22-year-old Lyle Hewitson broke his duck at the 141st attempt with a dashing front-running ride on Last Kingdom.

The dual South African champ maintained an admirably positive outlook during one of the longest losing runs in Hong Kong history and thanked fellow countryman Douglas Whyte for the ride on a freegoing Frankel gelding, who won three times for Andre Fabre in his early days.

Lyle Hewitson: broke his duck at the 141st attempt

"Someone said that hard work brings good luck and I can tell you I have been putting in the hard yards," he said. "It's a cauldron of fire here, if you’re not doing well you can burn to ashes if you let it."

Piccone ready for Hong Kong cauldron

Next into the cauldron is Tony Piccone, a 32-year-old Frenchman with 760 winners, including Group 1 scores for Harry Dunlop on Robin Of Navan in the Criterium de Saint-Cloud and Karl Burke’s Unfortunately in the Prix Morny.

Piccone has relatively little major international experience but landed the Qatar Derby recently and starts a two-month contract with four rides on Wednesday, including Charity Go (9.00), who had useful form as Fortune's Pearl for Andrew Balding but has lost his way of late.

"My number-one priority in any race is I'm always confident." he said. "I'm very relaxed before the race and in the race. There is no pressure for me and tomorrow I will ride four races and I'm not nervous, I'm excited."

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