Silvestre de Sousa fired in a magnificent four-timer at Happy Valley on Wednesday night, with the success of Money Catcher in the Group Three January Cup (1,800m) spearheading the Brazilian’s haul.

Champion trainer Frankie Lor Fu-chuen’s runner has taken his form to a new level this season with this second Group Three victory coming hot on the heels of a fine third in the Group One Hong Kong Cup behind Romantic Warrior.

A frustrating campaign last season in which Money Catcher finished placed on seven occasions without getting his head in front has now been long forgotten, with De Sousa forming a good partnership with the five-year-old.

Despite looking simple to most spectators with Money Catcher grabbing the rail early before sprinting clear in the straight, De Sousa revealed that his mount was not perfect on the track.

“He’s an improving horse and since he got his head in front, it’s brought him a lot of confidence,” De Sousa said.

“He’s been running in better races and ran a great third on international day – through this season he will be an improving horse.

“Today, I felt he was a little bit lost on the track. He was a bit goofy and the track could be a little bit tight for him. He’s a big unit, he’s a galloping horse and on a tight track like Happy Valley he struggled a bit, but he performed well.”

After the race, Lor nominated the Group Three Centenary Vase (1,800m) and the Group One Gold Cup (2,000m) as Money Catcher’s next two potential targets.

De Sousa’s fantastic four included two wins for trainer Manfred Man Ka-leung, who may have a Classic Mile contender on his hands in the shape of Encountered, who won his second straight race in the Class Three Cleveland Handicap (1,650m).

Going into the race Encountered was ranked 45th among Hong Kong’s four-year-olds but he will fly up the rankings after an easy win over Rocket Spade.

De Sousa and Man were also in the winner’s enclosure with the consistent front-runner Hero Star, who picked up his first win of the season in the third section of the Class Four Great George Handicap (1,200m), while the Brazilian again made all the running to win aboard Super Baby in the Class Four Kingston Handicap (1,650m).

It paid to come from off the pace in the Class Two Cannon Handicap (1,000m), with Handsome Bo Bo doing best of the fast finishers when Hugh Bowman found a passage through a packed field to run down Ping Hai Galaxy in the shadows of the post.

Trainer Danny Shum Chap-shing was thrilled with Bowman’s ride.

“He had a blood problem last start so we sent him to Conghua, left him for a little bit and he could take it easy,” Shum said. “But the most important thing tonight was that Hugh Bowman rode a great race on him – he’s riding with confidence. It’s amazing.”

Shum brought up a double when Happy Soul won the first section of the Great George Handicap under Lyle Hewitson.

Meanwhile, four Hong Kong gallopers have been entered for the Dubai World Cup meeting on March 25, with Sky Field and Super Wealthy a chance to make the trip to Meydan for the Group One Al Quoz Sprint (1,200m) and Senor Toba (Group One Dubai Sheema Classic (2,410m) and Tourbillon Diamond (Group One Dubai Turf (1,800m)) also in the mix.