After splitting their first two encounters, Hong Kong’s leading dirt specialists Kings Shield and Elusive State clash again in the rubber match at Sha Tin on Wednesday night.

The two have shown they are duffers on the turf but excel on the all-weather track, however, their high ratings and a lack of top-class races on the surface in this jurisdiction mean they are on the precipice.

If either Kings Shield (rating of 104) or Elusive State (103) salutes in the Class Two Cuckoo Handicap (1,650m) – they are both set to be prominent in the market – it will push their rating close to 110, while the typical band for dirt races ends at 105.

It would force another situation like the one Kings Shield just encountered, which required him to run around a few times in unsuitable contests on the turf to bring that mark down so he is eligible for a race he can actually win.

But that is the lot of the dirt specialist in Hong Kong, only it has amplified in the past 12 months with overseas options like Dubai and Korea – which both sets of connections were keen to explore – off the table because of Covid-19.

So this is a target race for these horses and bragging rights are up for grabs with the ledger currently standing at one-all.

Frankie Lor Fu-chuen’s Kings Shield dominated the first encounter on November 4, leading all the way to salute in style with Elusive State five lengths back in fourth.

The Tony Millard-trained seven-year-old managed to turn it around on January 17, with Joao Moreira sweeping around the field down the back before coming away to win in dominant fashion with his rival knocking up to finish fifth.

There is a significant weight turnaround from that clash though, with Kings Shield meeting Elusive State 11 pounds better off for the eight-length defeat.

While championship-leading jockey Joao Moreira sticks with Elusive State, perhaps the most intriguing change to the dynamic is the fact Zac Purton has opted to jump off Kings Shield and partner stablemate Glorious Artist instead.

“I asked Zac which of the two horses he wanted to ride and he chose Glorious Artist,” Lor said. “Both horses look good, Derek [Leung Ka-chun] will ride Kings Shield.”

Tony Millard dreaming of international riches as Elusive State dominates

Lor is willing to forgive Kings Shield for his sub-par effort in January, but can’t really put a finger on what went amiss.

“After the race, we couldn’t find anything wrong with him,” he said. “He got a big bump early and maybe that was the problem, it put him off or made him a bit scared. He’s run two times since then and has been fine, so he should be OK now.”

Both Elusive Shield (gate one) and Kings Shield (three) have drawn well but it is the galloper who has drawn the outside alley, Hongkong Great, who could really shake things up.

Danny Shum Chap-shing’s South American import, who won three Group Ones in Chile in 2018, has been dominant in his only two starts over this course and distance, setting a strong pace out in front on both occasions.

Hongkong Great is expected to take up that position again with Lor saying Kings Shield “can just take a sit”, instead of fighting for the lead.

The race is the highlight of Wednesday night’s all-dirt meeting, with Ricky Yiu Poon-fai’s duo of Encore Boy and Preciousship, the Tony Cruz-trained Californiadeepshot and Red Desert, from the John Size stable, also having claims.