Midweek trophy races don't come any tougher than the Indian Recreation Club Challenge Cup (1,650m) at Happy Valley tonight but a return to firmer ground could be enough to swing the tables the way of Little Island, reports Racing Post HK.

Little Island (Gerald Mosse) ran a great race for third to Bullish Smart two runs ago at his third Hong Kong appearance after not getting the best of trips through the race from an awkward draw.

Things looked to shape up better for the Manfred Man Ka-leung-trained gelding on March 9 when he lined up with a gate one draw but a rain-softened surface seemed to throw the whole meeting into chaos. Long-priced surprises turned up all night, suggesting many runners weren't handling the slippery conditions and Little Island managed only fifth after appearing to have his chance.

But it might pay to give him another chance on a good track again and the gelding gets a race setup that looks ideal.

Not only are there many winning chances, there are just as many possible configurations of the pace and throw in the C+3 track, which usually favours on pace and well drawn, and there could be a mad early scramble for position.

Little Island is unlikely to be part of that rush, but he does have barrier one so he should be able to get a soft run the short way around before finishing the race off late.

Looks Like The Cat (Zac Purton) is wearing out his welcome but did go too fast in front in that same race on March 9 and is another who should be forgiven his failure on his first look at a wet track, here or in Australia.

The other major hopes look to be Red Marvel (Matthew Chadwick), Go Go Win (Alex Lai Hoi-wing) and Land Grant (Joao Moreira) but there are a few more beyond that who run well at good odds without surprising.