Gold-Fun got out of jail to win his first run back from the break, but the Richard Gibson-trained five-year-old gets circumstances to win again despite top weight in the star-studded Group Two Oriental Watch Sha Tin Trophy (1,600m) today.
Gold-Fun (Douglas Whyte) opened last season with wins in the National Day Cup and Sha Tin Trophy and would have been something beaten had he not cleared traffic in time to win the first leg of that double again on October 5.
Whyte was put in a pocket turning for home and, under 130 pounds, Gold-Fun had it all to do to quicken up in the final 100m and grab the lead near the line.
Twelve months on, Gold-Fun was up six pounds in the weights there for last year's win and he is up 10 pounds today on his winning Sha Tin Trophy handicap but looks up to the task, especially with his key advantage.
When Helene Spirit came out of this on Friday so did the clear leader, and we are left without speed. John Moore-trained Same World replaced Helene Spirit and could lead, as could Flagship Shine but Gold-Fun also has speed to get forward.
Whyte went quickly from a wider gate in the Celebration Cup then steadied behind the leaders and there is every chance he will follow that pattern again.
Moore-trained Horse Of The Year, Designs On Rome (Joao Moreira) was an eye-catcher over 1,400m behind Gold-Fun, flashing into third and has the world at his feet this season.
But he doesn't have a walk-up start in this race because he doesn't always begin cleanly, he races back in the field off an inside draw here and probably 1,600m is going to be as short as he wants his races now with the edge off him second-up.
With the speed on, Designs On Rome may be capable of getting to the outside, giving Gold-Fun a start and a beating, but this race doesn't promise speed.
Without it, such a quality field may not be opening up down the straight and inside, where Moreira could be forced to make his run, could be filled with speed bumps.
Of course, this is no two-horse race, it is a brilliant contest filled with stars and there will be plenty of attention on Military Attack (Zac Purton) and particularly Ambitious Dragon (Gerald Mosse) returning.
While Gold-Fun ran as favourite winning last year, he was the first winning favourite for 23 years and the race has featured big upsets all the way up to stayer Packing Winner at 159-1 in 2009.
Tony Cruz has revealed that under-rated Blazing Speed (Neil Callan) scoped with mucus after his mild Celebration Cup run and he is well capable of being the upset horse.
