Joao Moreira's record-breaking season has been buoyed by the support of trainer John Size and the pair can combine successfully with Silly Buddies at tomorrow night's Sha Tin all-dirt meeting.
A recent drop into Class Three and a switch back to the all-weather track are the right ingredients for Silly Buddies to notch a fourth career victory.
Size has provided 29 of Moreira's 121 winners this season and the five-year-old Silly Buddies can make it one more as the Brazilian jockey pushes into uncharted territory and sets a new mark for most wins in a season.
Like so many John Size-trained Private Purchase Griffins, Silly Buddies jumped deep into Class Three with a couple of early wins, his consistency kept him there, but wins have been few and far between since the initial success.
A recent drop in ratings has brought him back close to a mark where he has shown he can be competitive, and a switch to the all-weather against some moderate opposition should result in a big performance.
Silly Buddies' last two wins have been off a rating of 76. The first of those was a three quarter length victory at an all-dirt night meeting towards the end of last season.
After that he competed well on the dirt in Class Two, but on the turf found life difficult. After dropping down to 76 he struck again, this time on the turf.
Back to a mark of 77 Silly Buddies returns to the all-weather track, where he has only missed a place once in three starts.
An option as double banker and the biggest threat to Silly Buddies is Tonyboy (Nash Rawiller), who has yet to win in 11 local starts, but another whose consistency has kept him high in the Class Three weights.
Of the others, include last-start winner Sea Ruby (Douglas Whyte) from a good draw, Rumba King (Brett Prebble) and All The Best (Neil Callan).
The second leg, a 1,650m Class Four, would be a lottery even if it wasn't for the recent wet weather.
Take John Moore-trained Happy Moments (Whyte) as he returns to the scene of his only previous win, coming off a solid closing effort for third last start.
Include Confucius Elite (Callan), Dashing Super (Keith Yeung Ming-lun) and take a punt on En Civil with trainer Richard Gibson utilising Jack Wong Ho-nam's 10-pound claim for the first time.
In the final leg, take Gibson's four-year-old Travel Renyi (Moreira) as banker in a Class Three 1,200m.
Travel Renyi was first across the line last start, only to lose the race on protest. He only goes up three points in the ratings for that performance and has drawn well.
Even though Travel Renyi has never raced on the dirt, he trialled very well on the surface midway through last month and the consistent type should have no problems adapting to the race-day conditions.
Of the others, go with the racefit and in-form Wah May Baby (Whyte), Great Sky (Gerald Mosse), King Derby (Callan) and Ruby Coast (Rawiller).
