David Ferraris has his team up and running quickly for the new term and new acquisition Iron Boy can help the trainer’s fellow South African, Douglas Whyte, to get his own season underway in the Fakei Cup (1,000m) at Happy Valley on Wednesday night.

Ferraris has two wins and five placings from his 15 runners so far, while 13-time champion Whyte has yet to fill a place in 11 rides, mostly on horses with lesser chances.

Iron Boy joined Ferraris during the summer and appears to be going well in his new surrounds, as he showed in a nice piece of work on Monday under Whyte.

His two wins have come over 1,200m at Sha Tin and there is an argument that 1,000m is too short but there wasn’t a lot wrong with his only prior effort over Wednesday night’s track and distance. That was in February, when Iron Boy got back from a wide gate but got home well late in a Class Two won by quality sprinter D B Pin.

Iron Boy then dropped to Class Three but a series of wide gates and unsuitable race set-ups worked against him and the gelding was often running on when the race was gone. Again it looks like Iron Boy will be back from gate nine but the tempo looks more helpful for horses running on.

E-Super and Silver Spun have apprentice riders pressing forward, Most Beautiful has blinkers going back on in a signal that he could be a pace influence and the speedy Mr Right (Neil Callan) and Circuit King often come out looking for the front.

Umberto Rispoli seeking Theatre and Fortune with Manfred Man’s Jades at Happy Valley

That looks a good amount of pressure for a smaller field, so Iron Boy will get his chance to run over the top of them late if he can reproduce that run in the higher grade earlier this year.

Another who will be back and looking to run on is the Richard Gibson-trained Right Honourable (Derek Leung Ka-chun), who also gets the benefit of a light weight and an inside draw.