Andrea Atzeni left Sha Tin on Sunday with a second Group Three win of the season and in pole position for the ride on a leading Hong Kong Derby contender.

The Italian rider is making a big impact in his first season in the city and his double courtesy of Nimble Nimbus in the Group Three Centenary Vase (1,800m) and Ka Ying Generation in the Class Three Daffodil Handicap (2,000m) moved him to 27 winners, with only Zac Purton, Karis Teetan and Hugh Bowman sitting above him in the jockeys’ championship.

Nimble Nimbus’ success comes hot on the heels of Taj Dragon’s victory in the Group Three Chinese Club Challenge Cup (1,400m) last month and trainer Ricky Yiu Poon-fai is impressed with Atzeni’s talent.

“All these years, I always use the new club jockey and the European jockeys always do well over longer trips,” Yiu said. “He’s a good rider and he’s adapting and dealing with Hong Kong well. He’ll be one of the best in Hong Kong.”

Yiu’s Nimble Nimbus came flying down the outside to break his duck at Group level and he was thrilled with the performance.

“I always thought that this horse would go well over 1,800m and Sha Tin is a better course than Happy Valley for him as it’s a longer straight,” said Yiu, who completed a double when Sunlight Power saluted in the first section of the Class Four Gladiolus Handicap (1,400m).

“He’s an amazing horse, he never gets beaten far and is very consistent no matter the distance.”

The Group One Gold Cup (2,000m) on February 25 is definitely on the agenda for Straight Arron, who finished third behind Nimble Nimbus, and he could be joined in that race by the winner.

For his part, Atzeni has struck up a good partnership with Nimble Nimbus and was delighted that the draw gave his mount every possible chance

“I think the horse deserves it,” Atzeni said. “He’s been knocking on the door and we’ve not had the best of luck with the draws.

“When I looked at the draw and saw stall five, I said ‘Thank God, we’ve finally got a draw with him’, and that’s actually the first thing I said to Ricky and the owner Jason [Chan Kam-kwan] when I came into the paddock.

“Ricky was very confident, he put no pressure on me whatsoever and he told me to just ride quiet and come as late as I could.”

Atzeni will be hoping to keep the ride on Ka Ying Generation, who announced himself as a contender for the later legs of the four-year-old series, and trainer Pierre Ng Pang-chi will be seeking his rider’s advice as they make a plan for the rest of the season.

“I know it’s a bit rushed and that was only his fourth run in Hong Kong, but he managed to do that today and I’m very happy with him,” Ng said.

“We’ll see how he pulls up and make a plan. On February 18, there’s an 1,800m race so we may test him out in that. We’ll have to speak to the jockey to see if we go to the Classic Cup (1,800m) but he can definitely go 2,000m or maybe 2,400m later in the season.

“It’s good to have a stayer in the stable. We’ll try and build him up and hopefully he gets into the Derby and runs well in it.”