It may pay dividends to ignore Solid Contact's last run and side with the Derek Cruz-trained galloper in his bid to lift the Police Cup in the pre-Christmas meeting at Sha Tin today.
After a flying, eye-catching finish behind Silver Collector at Happy Valley two starts back over the longer sprint, Solid Contact was all the rage to follow up and win over the Sha Tin longer sprint.
It didn't work out that way with Solid Contact finishing a long way behind the speedy Manor Lord. He was never really in the hunt and the 2-1 favourite left many punters hurting.
Trainer Cruz is having a first-rate season and the good-natured handler was also a bit nonplussed at the poor showing last time.
He watched re-runs of the race a few times and quizzed jockey Brett Doyle in an effort to discover what might have gone wrong - apart from the almost obligatory act in racing of forgiving a horse one bad run.
At Happy Valley yesterday morning for the trials session at the city track, Cruz said: 'He was a bit slowly away and he found it hard to get into the race off quite a fast pace. He was also drawn on the rails and I don't think he appreciated having a lot of horses around him. Solid Contact is a big-striding type and would be better off with more room to gallop in.
'Although he did come from quite a way back at Happy Valley, I think he might be better off a bit closer to it.' Champion jockey Basil Marcus, absorbed in a gripping battle with compatriot Douglas Whyte for the title, takes over on Solid Contact and when it comes to getting them going forward there aren't many better at it than him.