Ricky Yiu admitted he is “optimistic” about Blizzard’s ability to scoop Sunday’s G1 Sprinters Stakes (1200m) after watching his charge work sweetly at Nakayama Racecourse on Saturday morning.

D B Pin enters the Group 3 National Day Cup Handicap as the “weight horse” – the galloper that is still on the rise who finds himself in the 1000m feature with a light impost and an abundance of potential.

Trainer Danny Shum believes that exciting five-year-old Seasons Bloom can take another step towards the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races by defeating some of Hong Kong’s best horses in the Group 3 Celebration Cup Handicap (1400m) at Sha Tin on Sunday

Blizzard will break from gate 12 in Sunday’s Grade 1 Sprinters Stakes (1200m) at Nakayama Racecourse, Japan.

Zac Purton stole the limelight at Happy Valley on Wednesday night with a four-timer, and the jockey believes that Starlight is capable of heading higher after making his first appearance in Class 3 a winning one with his Citi Sprint Challenge Cup Handicap (1200m) victory.

Wednesday night’s Happy Valley card marked a milestone for rider Neil Callan, who found the winners’ circle for the first time this season aboard Chris So-trained Junzi.

Jockey Matthew Chadwick was not as shocked as most when Brave Legend won at Happy Valley three weeks back, and he remains confident that the four-year-old can continue his progression

Group 1 stars Beauty Only, Mr Stunning, Peniaphobia and Contentment will step out for the first time this term at Sunday’s National Day race meeting at Sha Tin Racecourse.

Rider Neil Callan has had a quiet start to the season, but the Irishman is hopeful that one of his five rides on Wednesday night can produce his first winner this term.

Entries are open for December’s Group 1 LONGINES Hong Kong International Races.

Mongolian King (127lb) will attempt to make it two wins on the bounce when he lines up in a tough edition of the Class 2 Yuen Long Handicap (1400m) at Sha Tin on Sunday.

Zac Purton notched a pair of contrasting wins to take riding honours at Happy Valley on Wednesday night.

Hong Kong will for the first time stage three spring Group 1 features on a single day, the Hong Kong Jockey Club announced on Tuesday. The Champions Mile (1600m) and the Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m) have been brought forward one week in the calendar,

Lucky Bubbles satisfied new partner Zac Purton with a comfortable stretch-out at Sha Tin on Tuesday morning. Last season’s Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m) hero eased through his first barrier trial of the campaign a shade behind fellow G1-winning speedster, Peniaphobia.

Jockey Karis Teetan had a simple answer when asked whether Convincible might make it four wins on the trot at Happy Valley on Wednesday night.

Diamond Mysterious was the middle leg of a Francis Lui treble at Sha Tin on Saturday, the Lonhro gelding recording his first win since May 2015 in the Class 4 Sunbird Handicap (1400m).

The Champion Griffin award traditionally celebrates the most promising youngsters on the rise in Hong Kong, and last season’s award recipient Premiere certainly showed himself to be on the right track after taking the Class 2 Chinese Recreation Club Challenge Cup

Premiere earned top rookie honours in Hong Kong last term and jockey Joao Moreira hopes Saturday’s feature race at Sha Tin, the Class 2 Chinese Recreation Club Challenge Cup Handicap (1000m), will kick off a career-defining sophomore season.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) has expressed its disappointment at the decision by the Australian Government’s Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (DAWR) to disrupt the movement of horses between the two jurisdictions.

Star apprentice Matthew Poon continued his strong start to his Hong Kong career with his first four-timer and his first Happy Valley trophy victory at the city circuit on Wednesday night.

The only race that Matthew Poon, who rode four winners on the programme, did not ride in on Wednesday night at Happy Valley was the third

Karis Teetan is enjoying a sharp start to the new campaign. The Mauritian ace took his tally to five wins to consolidate second spot on the early leaderboard after a treble at Sha Tin on Sunday.

It was a disappointing day in Korea for Hong Kong’s two raiders on Sunday with Lucky Year and Circuit Land both well-beaten as the Japanese dominated at Seoul’s LetsRun Park.

Winner’s Way will attempt to become the latest from last season’s smart four-year-old crop to take a stride toward the elite grades when he lines up in Sunday’s (Sha Tin feature, the Class 1 Kwangtung Handicap Cup (1400m).

Trainer Danny Shum has never been one to shy away from an overseas journey, but he says his first sojourn to Korea could prove a “stepping stone” to more international campaigns this season as Circuit Land (Keeneland Korea Cup) and Lucky Year (Keeneland Korea Sprint) gear up for their respective assignments at Seoul’s LetsRun Park on Sunday.

The Hong Kong Airlines Million Challenge enjoyed a smooth lift off at Happy Valley’s first fixture of the season on Wednesday night and it was 31/1 longshot Brave Legend that snared the series’ first win points in the Community Chest Cup Handicap (1200m).

Convincible justified 2.7 favouritism in the finale at Happy Valley on Wednesday night, the Class 2 Yau Oi Handicap (1200m), and snagged 15 series points, too.

Chris So pulled off an uncommon double when feather-weighted Catchmeifyoucan (109lb) won Happy Valley’s opening contest on Wednesday, three days after stable mate Top Beautiful carried off Sha Tin’s first race of the 2017/18 season.

Jockey Karis Teetan hopes that pre-season barrier trial “form” will hold up at Happy Valley’s opening meeting for the 2017/18 season on Wednesday night, when Convincible (127lb) looks to make it three wins in a row at the city circuit

Seasons Bloom’s impressive victory in the Class 1 HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup Handicap (1200m) at Sha Tin’s season opener on Sunday reinforced jockey Joao Moreira’s belief that the talented gelding can make a splash in the top grade.

Joe Moreira’s domination of the first half of Sunday's card was reminiscent of the day, last March, when the “Magic Man” set a Hong Kong record of eight wins in a day.

The turnover at Sha Tin on Sunday, the opening meeting of the 2017/18 meeting, of HK1.294 billion was a new record for an opening day fixture, while a crowd of more than 66,000 turned out to enjoy the action.

Paddy Power, the fifth-largest retail operator in the United Kingdom, will join the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s growing list of co-mingling partners beginning with the 2017/18 racing season, which opens Sunday at Sha Tin Racecourse.