Hong Kong racing returns to Sha Tin this Saturday for an 11-race programme, including the final two all-weather contests of the season.
Racegoers enjoyed a fortunate reprieve last weekend when expected storms bypassed the track before disappearing into the South China Sea, but conditions this time will be far less forgiving.
Thunderstorms and heavy rain are already lashing the territory and are forecast to continue for at least another 48 hours, guaranteeing soft ground throughout the meeting.
The feature race is the six-furlong Class Two Li Cup Handicap at 10.40am, which has drawn a small but select field of seven runners with little separating most of them on recent form.
Young Champion initially looked an ideal fit for the contest, at his best when produced with a short, sharp sprint in the closing stages with tactical master Hugh Bowman in the saddle.
Unfortunately, Young Champion hates soft or yielding conditions and must be passed over on this occasion, which opens the door for several other credible contenders.
The booking of Zac Purton for the first time aboard Rising Force looks a masterstroke, with the champion jockey an ideal pilot to get the best out of the four-year-old New Zealand import.
Rising Force has won twice already in his first season but has also finished runner-up five times, highlighted by sometimes over-racing, and will need all of Purton’s skill to conserve his energy.
Top-weight Sky Trust can never be discounted, having won twice previously against similar company, with “Magic Man” Joao Moreira doing the steering and always capable of producing something special.
However, the one galloper who really catches the eye is the Francis Lui-trained Turquoise Velocity, a son of Zoustar who has made an impressive impact this season.
Turquoise Velocity has posted four wins from eight runs in his first campaign, marking him out as a highly progressive sprinter with further improvement still to come.
The formbook shows he is up ten pounds from his last win in May, but on that occasion he gave three pounds and a beating to highly rated and subsequent winner My Mars, crucially on soft ground.
That performance on similar going to what he will face this Saturday makes his record under these conditions particularly compelling ahead of the 10.40am contest.
Provided jockey Keith Yeung can settle his mount near or in front from the off and keep something in reserve before the dash for glory down the home straight, Turquoise Velocity should be difficult to catch.