Young guns Caspar Fownes and Danny Shum Chap-shing were the stars of opening day last weekend and the trainers may well quinella the feature race again at Happy Valley tonight in the Hong Kong Country Club Challenge Cup, 1,200m.
The pair of rising star trainers dominated on the weekend, with Shum's treble bettering Fownes' double, but he lost out in the key event when The Duke downed Town Of Fionn in the first feature of the season.
In an open sprint Cup tonight, Shum can gain his revenge with Kalimantan to down Fownes' Fifty Fifty, with their vital inside draws giving them an edge over some of their rivals.
Formerly with Shum's long-time boss, Ivan Allan, Kalimantan had a patchy season in 2003-04 when clearly not 100 per cent in condition much of the time but did bob up on occasions including a strong-finishing second to Songs Of The Sun over this course and distance.
Although his last run last season was in May, he continued in work with Allan right until the final part of the season and so has not had as long a break as some of his rivals including the topweight, who did little after his last win until returning for the new term.
Shum's treble on Sunday showed just well his horses are firing in the early part of the season and although Kalimantan has not trialled, the trainer has probably given punters a lead to his readiness in the gear changes.