Champion trainer John Size is enjoying the ride with Sky Jewellery as his rising star looks to climb another rung of the Hong Kong ladder in Sunday’s Group Three Lion Rock Trophy (1,600m).

Last season’s Champion Griffin won three of his five starts in his debut campaign and came into this term a hugely exciting prospect, but his supporters were made to wait for his return after he bled from both nostrils in a trial at Sha Tin in November.

He made his reappearance in April by making a mockery of Class Three rivals, sprinting clear from the rear of the field to win by a very easy one and a quarter lengths, and he took the rise into Class Two company seamlessly on his next start.

His win in the Members Cup (1,600m) was an eye-catching performance, as he came through difficult soft ground conditions with the minimum of fuss to beat the likes of Beauty Eternal and subsequent winner Packing Angel.

Andrea Atzeni reported that he had not handled conditions that day, which does not bode well for his next set of rivals, but Size is having to be cautiously optimistic with the threat of his health issues re-emerging.

“I don’t know how long his good form is going to last – we will certainly enjoy the moments as they are coming, but you just have to hold your breath and hope that he can sustain that run of good races,” Size said.

“He’s certainly one of the better horses, that’s for sure. If his health holds up, I hope he’ll just keep progressing, but it’s a huge concern. You just hope the horse can deal with it.”

Size also has a strong duo prepared for the other Group Three on the card, the Sha Tin Vase (1,200m), where Raging Blizzard will look to step out of the shadow of Ka Ying Rising following six runs behind the world’s best sprinter.

A dual Class Two winner last season, the Per Incanto gelding has run with great credit in Group One company this term, including a recent third in the Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1,200m) behind Ka Ying Rising and Satono Reve.

“It looks a good opportunity for him. It’s always nice if you’ve got a horse coming from Group company back to handicap, you’ve usually got some advantage even though it looks very bad on the weight scale,” Size said.

“Hopefully he’s got another good effort in him and he might put himself in the finish. He deserves a win, but you don’t always get one just because you deserve it.”

In the same race, Size also runs 1,000m specialist Stellar Express, who has won three times on the straight course this campaign, including the Group Three Bauhinia Sprint Trophy. He has found it tougher going away from his beloved track and trip, but Size was quick to remind about how good his season has been.

“Being a track specialist is never a bad thing. He’s won five races and some people would probably think that’s pretty good. Some people would like to have a horse like that,” Size said.

“We’ve seen recently a couple of the horses have gone to the front and have actually won the race, so it can happen in circumstances of the day – you never know.”

Another with a strong chance for Size on Sunday is the enigmatic Crossborderpegasus, who bids for a first win of the season in the Class Three Hong Kong Ka Ying (Meizhou) General Chamber of Commerce Cup (1,200m).

The son of Rich Enuff has provided Size with quite the headache, with all three of his wins last season being in spite of the fact he hung markedly in when placed under pressure.

The issue persisted on his return this campaign and stewards sent him back to trials, where he failed five in succession before being allowed back to racing. The issue seems to be subsiding, however, and Size is hoping he can smash out of the gates on this occasion.

“He’s got a few things going on, but he’s got some ability, certainly and he should be in Class Two by now, but he’s not,” Size said. “He’s had some interruptions because of his racing manners, but lately he’s been fine.

“If he can get out of the gates on terms or not be so far away from the leaders, he’s probably got a winning chance.”

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