ENGLISH riding stars Lester Piggott and Alan Munro flexed their Derby muscles with two precision rides at Happy Valley last night.
With Sunday's Hong Kong Derby looming large on the horizon, Piggott showed all his brilliance when dominating the night's final event from the front on the Geoff Lane-trained Jacko.
Jacko was allowed to start at 21-1 - almost an insult to the maestro who partners Classic Trial winner Sterling Town for Ivan Allan in Sunday's Blue Riband event.
Lane, moving to 18 winners in another decent if somewhat fraught season, summed it up when he said: ''Isn't Lester unbelievable? He rode the perfect race from in front.'' Munro, from another generation to Piggott but an English and Irish Derby winner himself, produced a copybook display on Wylie Wong's Jewellery Star in the fifth.
He wasn't prepared to let Piggott on Our Champion or Basil Marcus on Al Bundy out of his sights and pounced on the leading pair shortly after straightening for home.
Al Bundy made Jewellery Star fight all the way to the line but Munro had just enough up his sleeve to get home by a head.