Supreme Essence can show his true colours
Chang's four-year-old put the writing on the wall last time and looks the one to beat from gate one in the first leg - a special conditions race
Michael Chang Chun-wai may have found the right race at the right time for and, with the help of gate one, he stands out as a banker in the first leg of tomorrow night's Triple Trio at Happy Valley.
The four-year-old (Olivier Doleuze ) hasn't set the world on fire since arriving, but his last-start third showed he is the only one here that can be counted on to improve in a Class Three special-conditions race over 1,200m.
Supreme Essence, winner of three from seven and never unplaced over 1,400m to 1,650m, was taken back from the start in his first three starts and hit the line in a reasonable manner over the course and distance two starts back. Last start he was again in the latter half of the field and got home for third behind Impeccable.
Two horses that have to go in on pure ability and barrier draws, but that simply cannot be relied on based on recent form are (Derek Leung Ka-chun) and (Zac Purton) - drawn two and three respectively.
(Douglas Whyte) is a tough old front-runner and has to go in, but he has been blessed with good gates of late and has drawn widest this time. Others to consider are (Gerald Mosse) and (Andreas Suborics). In the final two legs, the 10-pound claim of apprentice Dicky Lui Cheuk-yin has been utilised by his master Ricky Yiu Poon-fai on a couple of key runners, including last-start winner .
Lui's claim offsets a five-pound re-assessment from a special-condition Class Four win and if his navigation is sound from gate four - simply finding a one-off spot would be good enough - Plain Red Banner should fill a place.