Speechmaker may have been an unwanted customer in the betting at 95-1, but the way he hit the line in the Class Four Jules Audemars Handicap (1,400m) on Sunday at Sha Tin suggests the four-year-old is on the way to bigger things.
The Michael Chang Chun-wai-trained colt broke from gate three under a hefty 133-pound weight assignment for jockey Jeff Lloyd, was allowed to find his own stride, before unleashing a powerful burst to finish third behind exciting Quantum Power.
Speechmaker had a good preparation for the debut, including a very strong trial effort behind Treasure Gold three weeks ago over the Sha Tin straight, and it was no surprise to see him lengthen in the final 400m.
The son of Royal Applause and a Caerleon mare will come on for the outing and will be looking forward to a step up in distance as his formline reads from Ireland.
Raced under the same name in Ireland for trainer David Wachman, Speechmaker had been making his mark over the 2,000m at second-tier tracks - winning once with a second at Roscommon, before placing third at his final run at Clonmel. He is a strong stamp of horse weighing in at 1,181 pounds and has the ability to head higher off his opening mark of 65.
Tony Millard was all smiles after the win by Ambitious Dragon in the Group One Audemars Piguet QE II Cup (2,000m) and will have been beaming after a sound debut performance by the 85-rated import Treasure Gold in a Class Two over 1,200m.