Brown's bright prospect

Refreshingly can continue trainer David Hayes' bright start to the season by taking the fifth event on this afternoon's 10-race, Mid-Autumn Festival card at Sha Tin.

So often a Class Five event such as this is won by a lightly raced, younger horse dropping down from Class Four. Refreshingly fits the bill perfectly.

He ran a handful of times for the Hayes camp last season and, surprisingly, took time to feature at all, having trialled as if more than capable of winning in Class Four, let alone Class Five, prior to making his debut. On one occasion in a grass trial down the straight 1,000-metre chute he went to the line with senior work rider Danny Lee positively swinging off him. It was real 'feet in the dashboard' material and a trial which marked down Refreshingly as future betting material.

Such an opportunity failed to materialise last season but he did show up on his final two starts of the campaign, running third over the Valley's 1,200-metre trip under Corey Brown on his penultimate outing and finishing the campaign with a fair fourth.

Since then he has been dropped a further six pounds and commences this season from an attractive mark of 32. Hayes has booked the admirable Brown for the ride and from the way the likes of Spot On and Superior Dollar have already obliged for the stable, Hayes seems to have his team well forward.

Refreshingly has been noted getting home strongly in a quiet trial on the dirt and should give a very good account of himself in a race where leading form dangers appear thin on the ground.

Top Fit is clearly one of them having been just nudged out of third by Vigoroso on the first day of the season. Most of trainer Alex Wong Siu-tan's team have needed their first runs and that is exactly how Top Fit shaped. He came there looking as if he might win under the demon Douglas Whyte only to run out of hard racing condition in the last 100 metres or so.

That run should have brought him on and this easier Class Five company should be ideal for Top Fit. Whyte continues his association with Top Fit and this pair look the main opposition to Brown and Refreshingly.

Lead To Win, like Refreshingly, is a lightly raced youngster who can now race against Class Five company. He caught the eye on a number of occasions in his work last season and appeared to move very well in a solid jump out under the talented Irish jockey John Egan on Monday morning.

Of the others, Millennium Dawn, who took a while for the penny to drop last term, especially when it came to going round a bend, could be worth including in tierce wagers. He seems to have done enough work and also looks to be that much more mature this time round.

Elsewhere on the card, Sunny Day seems to have struck a very weak opening event. He had a tough run up on the speed last Wednesday night.