Graham Cunningham's Hong Kong Briefing: Furore is firing

Slowly but surely, the final pieces of the 2020 LONGINES HKIR are falling into place. Joao Moreira is heading towards December full of confidence after winning two of the three big trials on Jockey Club day at Sha Tin on Sunday but there were plenty of other talking points on a card that showed the past, present and future of HK racing to excellent effect.

So what were those talking points?

1: Golden Sixty is a crackerjack - Francis Lui's gelding made it ten in a row with another push-button performance in the JC Mile, quickening instantly to leave old rivals Ka Ying Star and Southern Legend trailing. He has the HK horses covered for the HK Mile on Dec 13th and his showdown with last year's winner Admire Mars and a couple of strong Euro raiders will be well worth getting up for.

2: Hot King Prawn is as good as ever - but will that be good enough to win the HK Sprint? John Size's flying grey repeated his 2018 JC Sprint win with more in hand than the narrow margin suggests but you could have thrown a blanket over the first eight and, for all that star import Classique Legend is the clear form choice, the suspicion remains that the sprint division remains open for a potential shock.

3: Furore is back - and better than ever after another emphatic defeat of Exultant. Tony Cruz's gelding was receiving 5lb from his stablemate but travelled in a smoother gear the whole way to earn a second tilt at next month's £2.8m HK Cup. Wednesday's entries will reveal if the international challenge is as strong as usual for that race but Furore looks a better horse than when fourth twelve months ago.

4: Exultant's Vase hopes remain bright - and don't rule out a bold run from the improving Columbus County. A 5lb penalty stymied Exultant but he never gives up and there's a chance that this year's Vase won't be as deep as the two he finished first and third in. Caspar Fownes exclaimed "great run" as he watched Columbus County stay on for third. Don't be surprised if he improves again next month.

5: Winning Dreamer is going from strength to strength - and made it five from five with an emphatic defeat of some hardened Class 2 sprinters in the finale. Frankie Lor's gelding impressed in the paddock and on the clock - hitting the line just a length slower than Hot King Prawn in the earlier G2 - and his new mark of 95 almost certainly underestimates how high he can fly.

6: Neil Callan is on a heater - and bagged his third double in the last four meetings as Full Power and Heza Beauty saluted. The Irishman is now in pole position to secure the final place in the International Jockeys' Championship at Happy Valley on December 6th. "The last ten days my luck has changed," he said. "We just need to extend that luck by one more day and we'll be right."

7: A fourth wave of Covid-19 has hit Hong Kong - and the Jockey Club have taken swift action. A crowd of 4,700 were at Sha Tin on Sunday but that figure will be slashed for the next four meetings with only essential officials, owners and family members allowed to attend. “It's unfortunate but the number of cases is of concern and we have to do what is right,” said HKJC CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges. For the record, the total number of Covid cases in HK this year still stands at under 6,000 with a total of 108 related deaths.