Ryan Moore will chase back-to-back Group One Longines Hong Kong Sprint (1,200m) victories aboard Wellington six months after having his nose bloodied by the star speedster at Royal Ascot.

A four-time Group One winner for former trainer Richard Gibson, Wellington is now under the care of New Zealander Jamie Richards.

Richards confirmed on Sunday that Moore will take the ride on December 10, with the British jockey expected to be fit to take the mount despite his recent fall in Japan.

It will be Moore’s fourth ride aboard Wellington, with the superstar partnering the seven-year-old to victory in last year’s Hong Kong Sprint before they teamed up to finish third in March’s Group One Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1,400m).

The pair then endured a torrid time of it in June’s Group One Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (1,200m) at Royal Ascot, with Wellington banging his head in the gates before appearing to rear slightly and throw his head back on beginning, smashing Moore’s nose in the process.

Wellington heads to the Hong Kong International Races [HKIR] on the back of his first-up third under Alexis Badel in the recent Group Two Jockey Club Sprint (1,200m).

Badel has been in the saddle for eight of Wellington’s 12 career wins – including three at the elite level – but this will be the fifth time he has been replaced aboard the galloper.

Moore’s Wellington booking does pose the question as to who will partner Aidan O’Brien’s Aesop’s Fables in the Sprint – Moore has been in the saddle for 11 of the three-year-old’s 12 starts – or whether the giant Ballydoyle operation plans on bringing the speedster to Hong Kong at all.

Sixty to step out on Tuesday

Francis Lui Kin-wai has confirmed Golden Sixty will have his final pre-HKIR trial on Tuesday morning, but he has yet to decide whether it will be over 1,200m on the dirt or 1,600m on the turf.

The Jockey Club has put on an additional 1,600m turf hit-out for international day runners, but Lui may not utilise it ahead of his superstar’s first run since April.

“Tomorrow, I will discuss it with Vincent [Ho Chak-yiu] and see what distance we will put him over – the two choices are all-weather 1,200m or 1,600m grass. We will see,” Lui said, confirming his superstar is “improving all the time, just like I planned” ahead of his bid to win a third Group One Hong Kong Mile.

Lui was talking to the Post following the victory of Chancheng Glory, whom the handler hopes can continue his progression after making it three wins on the bounce in the Class Three Chevalier Cold Storage & Logistics Handicap (1,600m).

“He improves every time he runs, and especially when he races with blinkers. The jockey [Lyle Hewitson] said a longer distance may be better for him. Hopefully, he’s a [Classic Series] prospect,” Lui said after moving to 16 victories for the campaign and maintaining his hold on third spot in the trainers’ title race.

Whyte moves into top four

While second-season trainer Pierre Ng Pang-chi has been all the rage so far this term, Douglas Whyte has been quietly compiling an impressive start to the campaign that sees him sitting fourth in the premiership with 15 wins.

Eight of those wins have come in November, with Whyte keeping the ball rolling thanks to victories from Apex Top in the Class Five Chevalier Insurance Handicap (1,400m) and Mister Dapper in the Class Four Chevalier Aluminium Engineering Handicap (1,600m) on Sunday.

“He’s done a great job,” Whyte said after Mister Dapper broke through at start three.

“He’s only had two runs. He’d been unlucky in both of his first two runs, but in hindsight, having those two runs under his belt has given him a good grounding, and today it made the difference.

“He’s done a good job, he’s going to go further in future, and he’s a nice horse going forward.”

The win of Mister Dapper was Karis Teetan’s sole success of the afternoon, but it was enough to see him leapfrog the injured Hugh Bowman into second in the jockeys’ premiership on 21 wins.

Chang’s Smokey steams up

Smokey Bear maintained his unbeaten record on the Sha Tin dirt on Sunday, comfortably accounting for a trio of more fancied rivals to take out the Class Three Chevalier Property Management Handicap (1,200m).

Winless from 15 Hong Kong turf starts, Smokey Bear made it two from two over the dirt 1,200m to reward those who nibbled him in from $23 to $20.6 in the final minutes of betting.

“He’s much better on the dirt. The jockey said that he really kicked inside the final furlong. He loves the dirt,” Chang said of Smokey Bear. “We’ll keep running on the dirt, and hopefully, we can keep the owners happy.”

Having his third start for Chang after stints under the care of David Hall and Jimmy Ting Koon-ho, Smokey Bear travelled in the box seat under Keagan de Melo before finishing too strong for the leader, $2.6 favourite Packing Bole.

Packing Bole hung on for second, two lengths behind Smokey Bear, while third favourite Self Improvement – whom punters hammered into $4.3 – and second elect Adefill were next to cross the line.

The victory was Chang’s fifth through 22 of the campaign’s 88 meetings, while De Melo moved to seven successes a quarter of the way through his maiden Hong Kong campaign.