Wellington will begin his 2023-24 campaign in November’s Group Two Jockey Club Sprint (1,200m) before entering his Group One Hong Kong Sprint (1,200m) defence second up, says second-season trainer Jamie Richards.

Richards inherited the four-time Group One winner from the retiring Richard Gibson at the end of last term and has something of a free hit at the city’s biggest sprint with the gelding.

Dethroned as Hong Kong’s premier sprinter by Lucky Sweynesse in the back half of last season, Wellington then endured a luckless Royal Ascot trip that saw him finish 10th in the Group One Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (1,200m) after bumping his head in the gates then smashing jockey Ryan Moore’s nose.

“He’s up at Conghua at the moment. We’re trying to give him a bit of a change of scenery. The plan with him is probably to be second up into the Hong Kong Sprint, with a run in the Jockey Club Sprint and a few trials before then,” Richards said.

“He seemed to come back in good order, with no scarring on his head or anything. He had to wait a little while before he came back, and then he had to do quarantine, so when he arrived in the stable, there were no battle wounds. He’s ticking along OK at this early stage.

“He’s a little bit older now, and he’s coming back from a trip to the UK, so you never quite know how they’re going until you put a bit of pressure on them.

“But he had a nice break when he got home, and everything seems to be ticking along OK at this stage, so we’ll see how he comes along. It’s great to have a horse of his quality in the stable.”

While Wellington is by far Richards’ highest-rated galloper on a mark of 126, the Kiwi handler is looking forward to bolstering the ratings of a number of his string.

It was Happy Valley that was kindest to Richards last term, with 24 of his 35 wins – including his last 11 on the trot – coming at the city circuit, but the 34-year-old hopes he has the cattle to have more of an impact at Sha Tin in 2023-24.

“I think probably more so the quality of horses we’ve had,” Richards said of his disproportionate Happy Valley success rate. “Hopefully, the new horses we’ve got can raise the bar a little bit for us at Sha Tin.

“For me, it’s about placing the horses where they’re most effective. If that means they’re better at the Valley, that’s where they’ll go. But hopefully, we can find a few nice horses to work through the grades at Sha Tin.”

Pachisi, Magniac and Armour Eagle make up Richards’ hand on the opening Happy Valley card of the campaign on Wednesday night.