Danny Shum Chap-shing has continued his hot start to the season, joining David Hayes at the top of the championship table after a double at Sha Tin on Sunday.

The 61-year-old has built a reputation as one of the quickest trainers out of the blocks – a status that is well-earned – and this year is no exception with six winners to his credit after five meetings.

Shum, who finished last campaign in fifth position with 57 victories, is one of the most consistent handlers in Hong Kong but he’s hoping his good form is not just a flash in the pan.

“I always try my best, hopefully it’s not just a fast start and I finish strong too,” he said. “I’m happy. The whole team has done a good job.”

Decisive Action kicked things off for the team with a strong performance in the Class Four Shrike Handicap (1,600m).

Jockey Zac Purton settled the five-year-old in the second half of the field before letting down strongly to overhaul early leader Speed Fay Fay in the dying stages.

“He didn’t get the start right, I was a touch further back than I wanted to be but the pace of the race early helped me and he’d already had that run this season,” Purton said.

“He’s obviously capable on his day, he’s just a little bit hard to follow sometimes. But once again Danny comes to the fore. He’s been a great supporter over a long period of time and he continues to turn his horses out in good form for me.”

Alexis Badel thinks The Rock is cooking something at Sha Tin

Namjong Sings completed the double by mimicking the effort of his stablemate – coming from near the back of the pack to edge out Tony Cruz’s debutant California Cible on the line.

Shum took particular pride in that result given the six-year-old had to overcome a health scare a few months ago.

“He had colic last season in Conghua so I gave him some time off to recover and give him confidence. It took him two or three months. He nearly needed surgery so it was lucky,” he said. “He’s always honest – he always runs well.”

Despite the narrow margin, jockey Alexis Badel felt the result was always in hand.

“I was a bit more confident than it looked in the finish,” he said. “I was confident in the way he responded and gave a good kick. I just thought the last 50m, the horse on the inside [California Cible] gave a good kick, but I was confident.”

It completed a double for the Frenchman, who also tasted success with the Chris So Wai-yin-trained Entrusted in the Class Three Swallow Handicap (1,600m).

The five-year-old broke through for his first Hong Kong win at start 13, unleashing a strong sprint in the home straight to beat Enzemble.

“I knew he was a good horse from his last prep – I was very confident with him,” Badel said.

It was almost a treble for the jockey, who fell the barest of margins short with stablemate King Of The Court on debut in the fourth race, with Happy Time prevailing by a pimple.

“He’s a nice horse, he’s been well-educated and no doubt he will improve a lot out of this. He’s still a bit of a baby,” he said.

“I was outpaced during the race and he took a little bit of time to get going and build momentum. He’s got a big action and he probably wants a little bit further, so he was just unlucky to find a horse who had the perfect race on the inside.”

Badel now has four winners under his belt as he looks to eclipse his total of 58 from last season.

“It’s extremely nice [to have a double]. It’s good to keep the ball rolling and I want to keep the momentum going,” he said. “I will try to improve [on 2020-21], I will try to give my horses every chance and I will see where I am at the end of the season.”