The promise of wet ground, combined with a wide barrier and a step to 1,400 metres points to Rich Dragon breaking through for trainer Caspar Fownes and making his own belated contribution to the tally of winners for the champion trainer-in-waiting.
Rich Dragon was a Group-class juvenile in Australia, where he was prepared by the master John Hawkes. While he has taken time to acclimatise to Hong Kong conditions, that process will undoubtedly be hastened by the arrival of the wet season.
Rich Dragon had one start on a heavy track in Melbourne at his final appearance and strolled away with a handicap for three-year-old colts and geldings. It's exactly what you would have expected with a horse of his breeding - by 1990 English Derby winner Quest For Fame from a daughter of the great Danehill, who sired innumerable soft track winners during his championship years at stud.
Rich Dragon has been slow to find his feet here. But the reward for that has been a substantial drop in the ratings - he arrived as an 89 horse and now finds himself in the middle of Class Three on a mark of 72. Rich Dragon showed he was ready to turn it all around with a positive barrier trial win down the straight 1,000m course at Sha Tin on May 8, when handled by Shane Dye.
He raced on the inside section of the track and ran well while under a hold from the New Zealand horseman and ultimately won by three-quarters of a length in reasonable time.
At his only start since that trial, Rich Dragon finished third to Step To Win and Sure Joy over 1,200m on good-to-firm ground at Sha Tin on May 24.
He was backed as though unbeatable on that occasion too, from 5.1 into 3.2 but simply found the 1,200m too sharp.
