A contractual commitment kept Kevin Shea in Mauritius rather than at Sha Tin for the December internationals, but nothing was going to keep the talented South African horseman from being part of the action on Sunday's big Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup programme.
Shea, 44, is to ride Sushisan in the QE II Cup and Linngari in the Champions Mile for trainer Herman Brown. And after giving each of them a spin on the turf track yesterday morning, he knows they are ready for action.
Linngari bowled 800 metres on the outside of the course proper, clocking 52.5 seconds for the full journey and improving the final 400 metres in 23.4.
But it was lower-profile stablemate Sushisan who really caught the eye, lengthening out impressively in the final 400 metres to clock the exceptional split of 21.9 seconds at the end of 1,200 metres in 1:23.1.
'They both worked very nicely but Sushisan is the one who has surprised us a little,' Shea said. 'The trip away seems to have done him the world of good. When he first arrived, he was a bit unsettled but the last few days he's really come into himself. He's a very athletic horse with a tremendous stride.'
Shea came into his own when Felix Coetzee, Douglas Whyte, Robbie Fradd and then Anthony Delpech left South Africa to try their luck in Hong Kong.