The narrow edge of a good draw is enough to make David Hall-trained Heroic Guruthe one to beat as he shoots for three straight in the Hong Kong Club Challenge Cup (1,650m) at Happy Valley tonight, reports Racing Post HK.
Erratic last season, the five-year-old version of Heroic Guru (Brett Prebble) is a more straightforward creature now and it is showing in his results with wins at Sha Tin and the Valley at his most recent appearances.
The ensuing 12-point rating rise, particularly after two perfect rides, might have been enough to suggest Heroic Guru was just about done were it not for his clearing out each time, suggesting he might have one more left before the handicapper has him nailed.
Prebble was in no hurry on Heroic Guru last start, letting him find his feet while quite a few rivals were squabbling over the lead and he held his cards close again at the 600m when others got itchy trigger fingers, allowing him to crunch late.
Superoi (Joao Moreira) was an eye-catching fifth in that race, as he and Royal Partner took off wide around the field coming to the home straight. He held on admirably and would have been first pick but for a tricky barrier eight that probably requires a little luck early - though Moreira's mounts do seem to get plenty of that.
Inside him, Little Dragon and Five Up High will be looking for positions and, to his outside, Salsa Brothers, Ultimate Glory (Gerald Mosse) and Grand Harbour also press forward in the early stages. So Superoi might be fortunate and find himself dragged across with this group early and landing two wide behind the speed, but it doesn't take much to happen for that to become three wide.
In fact the early speed scenario looks almost identical to Heroic Guru's last win, with six across the track passing the post the first time while Prebble watched it all unfold from a low draw - he can do the same tonight from barrier two.