In a jurisdiction where the names of horses contain words like Super, Lucky, Dragon, Star, Happy and Win – every race on Thursday features at least one of them – a gelding called Ian stands outs.

The five-year-old had a cult following in Australia because of the name and his background – he was prepared by hobby trainer John Thom and cost just A$5,000 (HK$30,000) at the yearling sales – not to mention the fact he flashed considerable ability, winning three of his four starts (he was an unlucky third in the other).

It was a rags to riches tale and when Hong Kong came knocking, Thom couldn’t refuse the A$500,000 (HK$3 million) on offer.

“It’s certainly a life-changing amount for me. Half a million dollars is life-changing for anybody,” Thom told Racenet in December 2019. “He was a good little horse, but I couldn’t knock back the offer in my circumstances, so I sold him.”

While Ian’s new connections decided to keep the unique moniker – he is named after Thom’s stepfather – things haven’t gone smoothly since he arrived in Hong Kong with a series of pelvis and hip issues keeping him sidelined for almost 18 months.

But after a long stint at Conghua and with three recent barrier trials under his belt, trainer Frankie Lor Fu-chuen is set to unleash Ian in the Class Three Better Future Handicap (1,000m) at Sha Tin on Thursday.

Those three hit-outs have been solid if not spectacular and it would be difficult to see him in contention on debut after such a long lay-off. A good result would see him hitting the line nicely and taking plenty of improvement from the run.

Leading local jockey Vincent Ho Chak-yiu takes the ride and will jump from barrier nine – a nice starting position down the Sha Tin straight – but he will probably be run off his feet early given the amount of speed in the race.

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It shapes up as a high-pressure contest with the likes of Joyful Fortune, Metro Warrior, Seven Heavens, Cruising and United We Stand all capable of setting the pace.

One-time boom horse Joyful Fortune returned to the winners’ list last start after failing to live up to his early hype with Matthew Poon Ming-fai retaining the ride from gate 13.

Trainer Tony Cruz was delighted to see him bounce back after some injury issues and will be hopeful he can keep that good form going.

Joyful Fortune beat Metro Warrior by a head last start and meets him three pounds worse off with Zac Purton staying aboard David Hayes’ sprinter and jumping from barrier 10.

The Caspar Fownes-trained Seven Heavens impressed with a dominant win over this course and distance earlier this month and soon-to-be champion jockey Joao Moreira takes the reins from the inside alley.

Returning to the theme of names, while Ian is one of the more unusual ones you’ll see for a racehorse here, the three-year-old who will sport the number 14 saddlecloth fits the Hong Kong stereotype to a tee – Super Win Dragon.

But given Chris So Wai-yin’s gelding has been beaten by at least five lengths in all four of his starts, he’s unlikely to feature prominently at the end of Thursday’s race.