Gold Chest gave Chad Schofield’s 2020-21 season a kick along with victory in this race 12 months ago and the 27-year-old hopes the Richard Gibson-trained speedster can produce again in Sunday’s Class Two Choi Hung Handicap (1,000m).

“He got me off the mark last season, hopefully he can get me off the mark this season,” said Schofield, who has one second from 10 rides so far this term.

Bought to Hong Kong by Pan Sutong as a Classic Series horse, Gold Chest finished 13th as a rank outsider in the 2019 Hong Kong Derby but has taken a liking to sprinting trips later in life.

After wins at 1,200m and 1,400m in the 2019-20 season, the six-year-old ran a close fourth in his first attempt at five furlongs in the back half of that campaign before producing a win and two placings from four efforts up the Sha Tin straight last term.

After hitting a mark of 96 following his victory a year ago, Gold Chest’s rating has come back to 86 and the son of War Front is looking to win at his seasonal debut for the third year running.

“He goes best fresh and he’s dropped back to a competitive rating. While Class Two 1,000m races are always tough to win, if things go his way he can figure,” Schofield said.

Can Blake Shinn break the early-season stranglehold of Joao Moreira, Zac Purton and Karis Teetan?

Gold Chest, who jumps from gate four in the 11-horse field, looked to have plenty in hand when finishing within a couple of lengths of winner Roman Turbo in a recent turf trial over five furlongs.

“I didn’t ride him but his trial looked good up the straight,” said Schofield, who admitted he’s doing a rain dance even though the twin typhoons in the region haven’t come anywhere near as close to Hong Kong as initially forecast.

“If there happens to be a bit of give in the ground, he’ll grow a leg – he’ll really love that.”

Among Gold Chest’s opposition are straight-track specialists Ping Hai Bravo and Valiant Dream as well as up and comers Trillion Win and Winner Method.

Gold Chest is not the only galloper Schofield is hunting repeat success aboard on Sunday, with the jockey reuniting with the John Size-trained Dragon Baby and looking to make it two on the bounce aboard Jimmy Ting Koon-ho’s Gluck Racer.

Schofield partnered Dragon Baby to victory on debut in April and while the four-year-old has been unable to repeat the dose in five starts since, he hopes the gelding will return from the break a better animal in the Class Four Ngau Tau Kok Handicap (1,400m).

“The day I won on Dragon Baby he was quite impressive so hopefully he’s matured a bit with the off-season under his belt and he can keep racing through the grades,” he said.

Gluck Racer steps up in grade for the Class Three Diamond Hill Handicap (1,200m) and is chasing a third win at start six.

“He obviously won very soft, it was a convincing win. He showed a good turn of foot and he put them to bed quite comfortably,” Schofield said of Gluck Racer’s last-start victory in July, his first ride aboard the galloper.

“He’s obviously up in grade now but he’s got a nice racing style where he can just race behind the pace and with a nice light weight, he should be competitive.”