First-season trainer Mark Newnham will send out his first Group One runner in Hong Kong in Sunday’s Centenary Sprint Cup (1,200m) at Sha Tin and he is in the enviable position of going into battle with a horse who has proved his mettle with a string of consistent efforts at the highest level.

Courier Wonder has finished outside the first four just once in his six races in Group One company, with his best result coming when runner-up to superstar Lucky Sweynesse – the red-hot favourite for Sunday’s race – in the Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1,200m) last April.

All those top efforts came under the care of John Size. After leaving the 12-time champion trainer’s yard at the end of last season, the six-year-old had a brief spell with Danny Shum Chap-shing, during which he was entered for December’s Group One Hong Kong Sprint (1,200m) but withdrawn after suffering an injury to his left fore.

Newnham is the beneficiary of the latest stable switch and is delighted to have a seat at the top table so early in his Hong Kong stint.

“It’s important and to have a horse of his calibre so early is exciting,” Newnham said. “Obviously, he hasn’t won for quite a while after starting his career with a bang but he’s been placed behind some of the best sprinters here.”

A former jockey, Newnham has taken a leading role in preparing Courier Wonder for his first run since his Class One third last July.

“All his work since he’s been with me has been good,” Newnham said of Courier Wonder, who must negotiate barrier 12 under jockey Luke Ferraris.

“I’ve ridden him quite a bit, his trial was good and his gallop here on the course last Saturday morning was good, so I am happy with him going into the race.

“I don’t know how he was going [last season] as far as what standard of work he was producing but the way the horse looks and the way the horse feels, I’m happy with him.”

Courier Wonder is not the only horse on Sha Tin’s card having his first run for Newnham after making a transfer from another yard, with Show Respect taking his chance in the Class Three Tai Hing Handicap (1,200m).

Newnham has inherited the four-year-old from Douglas Whyte largely thanks to his good relationship with the owner, Yulong’s Zhang Yuesheng.

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“I had a couple of horses for him in Sydney and both horses I had with him were winners,” Newnham said. “They never rose to any great heights but they both won and so he decided to transfer this horse to us.”

Show Respect finished fifth in his last start for Whyte but Newnham is going to take the opportunity to try out some different tactics

“He’s going to be ridden quietly,” Newnham said. “Looking at his runs here, he just seems to get on the pace and hold his position without hitting the line, so I’m just going to experiment with him, ride him a bit colder and let him tell us where he’s going.”