Trainer Frankie Lor Fu-chuen sits proudly atop the trainers’ championship as the halfway point of the season approaches and he is hopeful of remaining there after the meeting at Sha Tin on Thursday.

Lor, who finished second in the trainers’ title race in 2017-18 and third last season, is under no illusion as to the mountainous task he faces in beating one of his mentors, John Size.

“My old boss is really strong and sometimes he can win two or three in one meeting, so it’s really hard to stay in front,” Lor said.

With 42 successes so far this season, Lor is just one winner clear of Size heading into the Chinese New Year meeting and has runners in the two biggest races on the card at Sha Tin.

Winning Dreamer, who won the first six races of his career, has failed to salute in seven starts since and steps up in trip in the Class One Chinese New Year Cup (1,400m).

“Unfortunately he’s got an outside draw [in stall 11],” Lor said. “He could be reliant on the pace – if the pace is a bit faster I think it should be OK but it depends.”

Winning Dreamer ‘could be a Group horse’: Frankie Lor

The five-year-old finished sixth in Group Three company in his only 1,400m start in January last year and Lor feels the time is right to have another shot at the trip.

“I think he’s ready, I asked Vincent [Ho Chak-yiu] if we should try 1,400m now and he said yes. He looks like he is improving and I hope he can recapture his best form,” Lor said.

Money Catcher is an intriguing Lor runner in the Class Two Fat Choi Handicap (1,800m), in which he takes on Hong Kong Derby hope Senor Toba and last-start winner Beluga.

Lor’s four-year-old finished a disappointing 11th in his first start in Hong Kong last month and missed the cut for the Classic Mile last weekend, but the trainer thinks Money Catcher can improve on that effort to hopefully become a contender in the four-year-old series.

“This horse raced in the New Zealand Derby at 2,400m so I think 1,800m should be no problem for him,” Lor said.

“His rating is 78, so I need to get some more points because he is entered in the Derby. If he runs well in this race I think I will send him to the Classic Cup, but it will depend on the rating and whether he is ready.”

Despite looking forward to his runners this week, Lor was keen to provide an update on one of his stable stars Fa Fa, who finished a well-beaten 12th behind Romantic Warrior in the Classic Mile last weekend.

Fa Fa suffered a troubled run in the home straight at Sha Tin, which Lor feels cost his runner some places, but the trainer is yet to decide on the track or race for his four-year-old’s next start.

“He got some interference in the [Classic Mile] so I can’t say he’s no good at Sha Tin,” Lor said.

“I think if he had a smooth run, he could have been close and 1,800m and 2,000m should be better for him. I’m still deciding whether we race in the Classic Cup or at Happy Valley again.”