Jockey Joao Moreira put on the tactical fireworks to win the Group Three January Cup (1,800m) last year for John Moore on Same World, but Harbour Master's supporters will be hoping victory is more straightforward this time around for the combination, reports HK Racing Post.
Same World won with a daring dash around the field by Moreira when the tempo was muddling, running away with a big lead before entering the straight that his rivals couldn't claw back.
It's Moore and Moreira again on Wednesday night at Happy Valley, with Harbour Master the form runner going into the January Cup after smart wins over 1,650m and 1,800m at the course.
With 131 pounds aboard, he rounded up his rivals in a Class Two on December 10 to win with more comfort than the half-length margin suggests. Plummeting to 115 pounds tonight, Harbour Master is drawn to sit in a similar midfield position before unleashing his finishing burst and that light handicap ensures he will take some holding.
His main danger has a light handicap too and, like Harbour Master, Helene Super Star has the look of an emerging talent. The Derby winner in Dubai as a three-year-old, Helene Super Star struggled with mucus issues in his first campaign but has turned the corner, recently to look like a horse going somewhere.
His last two runs in particular - closing off well in the Jockey Club Cup and then again in the Hong Kong Cup - have caught the eye.
Both times lately Helene Super Star muffed the start under Italian rider Mirco Demuro and has Matthew Chadwick back on board tonight, a jockey he has begun cleanly for in the past.
The question now is whether those two runs are showing him to be better sitting out the back and running on, or racing on the speed as he did in his UAE Derby win.