It was a shame that Monday's National Day Cup crowd was not filling Sha Tin to bursting as we saw a new, improved Fairy King Prawn at the top of his game.
Watching him perched on the back of the speed and then putting the Cup field to sleep in such a clinical, unflustered fashion makes it hard to imagine what kind of horse will beat him in the Hong Kong Mile. If Ivan Allan is correct and Fairy King Prawn can be ridden more aggressively on a regular basis and still dash just as effectively in his races, even when the freshness goes off him, the prospect is awesome.
Naturally, if the horse is going to be used up to be so close, then there has to be some compromise on his finishing speed. But the luck factor which handicaps big-finishing run-on horses everywhere disappears if the Prawn can trail and pounce like he did.
And Sunline might find it tough to beat him again, even if she turns up. The last time the Post contacted Sunline's trainer, Trevor McKee, he was nonplussed about returning here this year.
Perhaps it was the after-taste of last year's Greg Childs controversy, which certainly diverted attention from the mare's victory. Perhaps it is the prospect of this time finding some over-zealous rivals near the lead, as she did in Dubai once her ability and game plan had become widely known.
Still, Sunline is a six-year-old mare who has done pretty much everything asked of her in that time. It is hard to imagine she would still be in training at seven. Once her tilt at a third successive Cox Plate in Australia is done, and assuming she runs at the very least with credit, connections might alter their thinking about Hong Kong from 'no thanks, we've done that' to 'OK, let's see if we can do it again.' The mile form in Europe has not been strongly touted, so the question starts to look like: from where will the threats come? If any?