It shouldn't be too long before Fireball is back in the winner's enclosure.

That was the suggestion from last night's fourth event on the Sha Tin dirt, in which Fireball was noted staying on better than anything to finish just behind the place-winners, led home by Amza Glory. The mile on the dirt was about 200 metres too short for Fireball, who was back in the race and under pressure from halfway.

He did well to respond to Peter Ho's urgings, and appears to have strengthened and made good physical progress since notching two comfortable wins earlier in the campaign. His trainer, Wong Tang-ping, has been at pains to avoid rushing Fireball since, and he is now ready to oblige when pushed back up to 1,800 metres or, preferably, farther. Also keep an eye out for Ivan Allan's Speedy Fun, who showed courage and talent to run second to Monopoly Senior in the third.