Trainer Tony Cruz and jockey Christophe Soumillon were full of admiration for Bullish Luck's performance because he was forced to race on the worst part of a track.

'You could see that the horses near the rails were at a big advantage,' Cruz said. 'We saw it earlier in the night when the Japanese horse Heart's Cry led all the way in the Dubai Sheema Classic. The horse that followed him on the fence [Collier Hill] ran second and the horse who followed him finished third - all three placegetters had rails runs.

'Our horses drew barriers 15 and 16, so getting to the rails was never going to happen. In any case, Bullish Luck is a horse who gets back and needs to make his run down the outside. Once he was out there, Christophe said he kept giving, he never stopped trying, but the conditions were just completely against him on the night.'

Cruz returned to claim two minor races at Sha Tin on Sunday with Electronics Spur and Lucky Diamond and is hoping for a similar result on tonight's card, featuring seven events on the all-weather track and just one, a Class Two handicap over 1,600m on the turf.

Cruz's transformed Danehill gelding Legionnaire is the shortest-priced favourite, coming up at $25 on last night's opening tote call.

The gelding has won his last two starts on the dirt in effortless fashion in Class Four company.

Tonight Legionnaire takes the rise to Class Three and a step up in distance to 1,800m. But given the authority of his last two wins, and the fact he find such an instant chance of pace on the artificial surface, he looks the one to beat.

With Lancettier (Gerald Mosse) having to give Legionnaire 13 pounds in the handicap, it's more likely that another dirt specialist in Wadadelight (Olivier Doleuze) will represent the main danger.