Francis Lui Kin-wai may be having a quiet time of late, but the stable's two imports Zachary and Happy Ceramibo are coming along nicely, judging by their eye-catching efforts on Sunday at Sha Tin.
Zachary stepped out for the fourth time in the Class Three Elegant Fashion Handicap (1,600m) and, following three non-existent earlier outings, was almost at cricket-score odds.
He was snagged back and ridden along to stay in touch after breaking from gate 12, ran into a wall behind Liberty Valance, Flying Unicorn and Amityship from the 400m until switching outside Amityship at the 200m before finishing up nicely to come up a luckless fourth, beaten 11/2 lengths by debutant Great Stories.
Zachary arrived off a mark of 73 and raced under the same name for Peter Snowden in Australia, winning twice over 1,100m at Caulfield and a mile at Kembla Grange, and was five-times placed up to 2,000m.
The four-year-old is a son of smart shuttling Danehill stallion Commands, a four-time winner from 1,100m to 1,400m, and the successful local sire of 19 winners from 22 starters.
He's out of the good race-mare Zacheline, a daughter of Zabeel who was a four-time winner from 1,600m to 2,500m. Being by a Zabeel, Zachary is likely to get better with age and has the pedigree to handle a move to the all-weather surface as well.