A double on Space Race and Helene Witty and a pair of bold second placings in the feature races almost created the perfect storm for Frenchman Gerald Mosse, who made a successful visiting raid yesterday.
Mosse narrowly missed out on winning the Group One Standard Charter Champions & Chater Cup (2,400m) on the Peter Ho Leung-trained Mr Medici, and also rode a bold race on John Moore's ageing sprinter Sunny King to claim second in the Group Three Sha Tin Vase (1,200m).
'It wasn't as big as it could have been, it wasn't a bad day, but it wasn't the best day,' Mosse said. 'Space Race showed me he had good ability when I was riding him earlier this year and I rode him pretty confidently today.
'We were just off the speed, but I never let the leader [Dane Patrol] cross us, I was the first to press and he answered well all the way to the winning post.
'Space Race really answered perfectly when I asked him to sprint, he's very honest, and I think he still had some margin up his sleeve.'
In booting home a double for Tony Cruz with stablemates Space Race and Helene Witty, Mosse helped the trainer repel a charge from Moore, who also led in a pair but remains six wins behind Cruz in the title with only 11 meetings remaining.
'I like Space Race a lot and I must thank Tony for giving me such great support.