Jockeys' championship leader Zac Purton can provide some new year cheer with two clear bankers in a jackpot-boosted Triple Trio at Wednesday's public holiday meeting at Sha Tin.
The TT has been seeded with $19 million, which will create an estimated $29 million dividend and Purton's rides in the first and last legs have the look of likely standouts in their respective events.
Recent stable transferee Disciples Twelve kicks things off in the first leg, while Hey Cheers can continue his superb seasonal form in the anchor leg.
Paul O'Sullivan seemed to have Disciples Twelve headed in the right direction, but owners moved the five-year-old to Caspar Fownes and he hasn't wasted any time getting his new acquisition to the track. Disciples Twelve hasn't trialled for his new handler, after a encouraging run-on fourth on November 24 when still with O'Sullivan, and Purton was on at trackwork last week as they tuned the gelding up for this.
Disciples Twelve won his way straight out of Class Four with a debut victory that cost him nine points, and as many horses do, seemed to find the rapid ascension too much to take.
It's never been a question of ability for Disciples Twelve, he was strongly fancied on a number of occasions in Class Three, has also been desperately unlucky at times and at the start of this season battled lameness. It's taken the horse over a year to drop from 61 back down to 57 and with a decent draw here, four, against a moderate looking Class Four field over 1,200m, he can launch back into Class Three.
From the draw Purton won't have to be as far back as Douglas Whyte was last start on the gelding, a race where the leading group dominated.
He faces the winner from that race Addole (Tye Angland), this time eight pounds better off and with Addole also forced to work harder from gate 12.
Addole still goes in, along with well-drawn first-starter On The Way (Douglas Whyte) from the Dennis Yip Chor-hong stable.
It's always a great sign when Whyte sticks with one through trackwork and trials, and he has been on the four-year-old in each of his three barrier trials.
There is little doubt On The Way can gallop, but he is very slow to muster at the start, and from gate one he is going to end up facing some traffic. He goes in but there is a suggestion from his trials that he might be suited over further.
Also consider Glory Horsie (Weichong Marwing), Copy Star (Karis Teetan) and China Angel (Umberto Rispoli).
Purton wasn't on Hey Cheers last time he won, Angland was, and there was enough in that victory to suggest that he would win his way out of Class Four.
Two starts back Purton was left at the start by the five-year-old, who was controversially declared a runner anyway. So even though Hey Cheers' season record reads three from four, he is unbeaten each of the times he has successfully carried a rider around.
Back over the same 1,600m journey he has the necessary improvement in him to continue his rise through the ratings. Include Dragon Glory (Angland), and even consider him as double banker, and throw in Thanksgiving (Whyte) and Happy Centenary (Brett Prebble).
In the middle pin, a Class Four over 1,400m, take Jun Ju (Angland) as banker, with Geronimo Meadow (Prebble), Skip Court (Matthew Chadwick) and Good Hong Kong (Purton).
