Joao Moreira put it down to “class” and it was impossible to argue with the Brazilian’s assertion after Hot King Prawn defied top-weight to win a sizzling Class 1 contest at Sha Tin on Sunday (8 March).

“Only a really classy horse can do what he has done in carrying top-weight and beating those talented horses, some carrying 20 pounds less than him. I’m proud of him and pleased to get another win out of him,” the ‘Magic Man’ said.

Hot King Prawn (133lb) was one battling challenger in a line of four with 150m to race but lifted his game late in the piece to score by half a length from the fast-closing Thanks Forever (127lb).

The popular grey’s victory was a tribute not only to his own quality in the fight but also to his  powers of recovery, and a nod too to the savvy training of his handler John Size who had employed that most admirable of virtues, patience, to bring the gelding back from a serious ailment.

“I think time is the governor of all things and that probably helped,” Size said as he recalled the colic surgery in February 2019 that sidelined his burgeoning sprinter for the best part of the next 10 months.

“He wasn’t a complicated surgery – I think the vets are of the opinion that if they don’t have to cut the intestine the horse has a better prognosis. Normally, a horse struggles to regain form but I don’t think he’s lost anything through that, he’s gone on with the potential he’d shown before this season; he’s run into Beat The Clock and he’s a very aggressive racehorse, it’s hard to beat him on his day.”

Hot King Prawn’s win in the afternoon’s feature, the Chek Lap Kok Handicap (1200m) was his first for the season and well-deserved after four placed efforts in the high grades. After a comeback second in the G2 Jockey Club Sprint, the Australian-bred placed second to stablemate Beat The Clock in December’s G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m); the Denman five-year-old has since finished third in both the G1 Centenary Sprint Cup (1200m) and G1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m).

Size will now point the 10-time winner at the G2 Sprint Cup (1200m) on 5 April as a step into the G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m) on FWD Champions Day (26 April).

“There are two more set-weights races, which looks a little simpler but he still has to hold his form for the rest of the season. When he runs he doesn’t run badly so he never gets a rest,” the 11-time champion trainer said.

“He’s just got to hold up, he’s had some racing. I ran him in the 1400 (metres) three weeks ago and actually he wouldn’t have won this if I hadn’t run him in that because he needed to be tough for this, carrying weight. There’s a balancing act there because the horses have got to be tough but then get over the race.”

Hot King Prawn stopped the clock at 1m 08.72s but his final 400m split of 22.01s was eclipsed by the 21.56s Thanks Forever registered as he charged home from deep under Zac Purton.

Trainer John Moore believes that run was well up to meriting a trip to Dubai where the four-year-old has an entry in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint (1200m) on 28 March. But the final decision rests with the Duporth gelding’s four owners.

“He finished the strongest of any of them, so that’s encouraging and now I’ll speak to the owners about Dubai,” Moore said.

“He can’t do any better than that given the start he had, half-missing it and then closing over the top of them. The owners are in their 80s and there’ll be a sit-down talk but he was only beaten half a length and I reckon we could have beaten Hot King Prawn if we’d jumped. Had he been standing properly, I think he would have jumped away and been right up there with those four horses.”

Mr Stunning (132lb) showed that he still has something to give at age seven. The two-time G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint winner was third of the seven runners to pass the post.

Moreira nailed a double on the day thanks to the Me Tsui-trained Fantastic Show’s success in the Class 4 Tung Chung Handicap (1400m).

Some Derby hopes seemed to be flattened if not dashed altogether in the Class 2 Mui Wo Handicap (1800m), which went to the Tony Cruz-trained five-year-old Helene Leadingstar (120lb) under Vincent Ho.

All eyes were on the Size-trained favourite Beauty Legacy (133lb) to see if the talented but headstrong gelding would settle. He didn’t, despite the skills of Moreira in twice bringing the Australian import’s fierce head back down to a manageable carriage.

But Beauty Legacy’s steam had gone early in the straight and he fizzled to an eventual 11th, leaving fellow Derby hopefuls Reliable Team and Winning Delight to try and boost their claims in the run to the line. The latter finished a fair sixth, while Winning Delight kept on moderately for eighth – should either line up for the Classic Series finale on 22 March it would be a stretch to expect them to be anything other than also-rans.

Leung bags his 300th, 1100 for Purton

Charge On lived up to his name with a last-to-first rattle worthy of jockey Derek Leung’s 300th win. The rider was delighted to have hit the milestone on the David Hall-trained three-year-old who opened his account at the fourth attempt.

“The last couple of meetings, a couple of reporters told me I was close to 300 so I was pretty excited and today that was the target. Hopefully I can get more!” Leung said.

Zac Purton hit a landmark too, his 1100th Hong Kong win, when the talented Danny Shum-trained three-year-old Lucky More overcame a 133lb impost to win the finale, the Class 3 Ngong Ping Handicap (1200m).

Earlier in the afternoon, the champion jockey teamed with the Moore stable for a success aboard Touch Of Luck in the Class 4 Tai O Handicap (1200m).

Moore was also on the mark when Computer Patch edged a four-way finish to the Class 2 Fan Lau Handicap (1000m), the margin being a head over Hong Kong Win, with Duke Wai third and Gold Chest fourth, no more than a neck further back. Matthew Chadwick punched home the three-year-old rig.

Meanwhile, trainer Douglas Whyte’s smart four-year-old Will Power regained the winning thread in the Class 3 Sha Lo Wan Handicap (1200m, dirt). The Power gelding swooped late under Teetan to take his career record to three from four, all on the dirt track.

Teetan nailed a treble when the rail-running Lakeshore Eagle (125lb) – trained by Ricky Yiu – held off the mid-track challenge of Smart Patch (123lb) to win the Class 3 Tong Fuk Handicap (1600m).

That followed an earlier win for Teetan aboard trainer Michael Chang’s promising young galloper President’s Choice, who raced home strongly from the back to win the Class 4 Siu Ho Wan Handicap (1200m) at only his third career start.

Victor Wong bagged his first success since 5 May last year when the Jimmy Ting-trained Smiling Success took the opener, the Class 5 Yi O Handicap (1400m). The rider, sidelined for nine months with a serious injury, scored on his 14th ride since his return.

Hong Kong racing continues at Happy Valley on Wednesday, 11 March.