A strong barrier trial on the dirt from the John Size-trained Fortune General will give plenty of confidence to Triple Trio players wishing to make the horse a banker in the central leg of Sunday's HK$4.8 million jackpot pool.
The resuming Douglas Whyte has an outstanding book of rides and will count Fortune General among the best of them after partnering the gelding in his trial second behind Electronic Motion 11 days ago.
Fortune General has already shown a liking for the dirt, but that looks set to turn into a full-blown love affair after Sunday with the Johannesburg gelding set to claim his second victory and first on the all-weather-track.
Whyte sat motionless as Fortune General cruised impressively into the trial after sitting deep throughout the early stages, and a similar performance will make the pair extremely hard to beat.
The one factor that might have brought the combination undone could have been the vagaries of the dirt-track bias, but even that concern will be nullified by the ideal draw, with Whyte able to pick his exact spot in the field from gate three.
Early tempo looks assured to be set by the likes of topweights My Whisky and Bet On Me, and Whyte will have plenty of time to slot into the one-out, one-back position to the outside of major danger Darpana, who has drawn the rail.