With one eye on next season’s Classic Series, Frankie Lor Fu-chuen is confident his exciting sprinter Bottomuptogether can maintain his unbeaten record at Sha Tin on Monday.

An impressive victor of his two starts over Sha Tin’s straight course, Bottomuptogether will step up to 1,200m and Class Three level for the first time in the Sportsmanship Handicap under regular rider Zac Purton.

The son of Shamus Award brushed aside his rivals with relative ease over the minimum trip in May and Lor hopes jumping from gate one on Monday can prove decisive.

“He looks like a nice horse and Zac rides him again as he steps up to 1,200m,” Lor said. “The draw is quite important as it’s his first start over 1,200m.”

Bottomuptogether transferred his promising trial performances into his debut on May 5.

Travelling powerfully throughout, the three-year-old hit the front 300m from home and showed a touch of class to pull a length and a half clear of his labouring opponents under hands and heels riding.

Bottomuptogether collected his second win three weeks later, showing good early speed before responding to the urgings of Purton to put the race to bed in the final furlong.

While he enters uncharted territory over this new trip, Lor believes the full-brother to stablemate Beauty Live – who has five wins to his name over 1,400m and a mile – will relish the extra distance.

“I think he needs a bit further in the future because his brother is Beauty Live, so I think 1,400m or 1,600m should be no problem for him,” Lor said. “Hopefully he can be a Classic Series horse next season, but it depends on how he improves.

“He’s not really strong enough at the moment, but at the end of the season hopefully he can grow a bit more.”

He faces 13 rivals in Monday’s contest, with Francis Lui Kin-wai’s two-time winner Divano rating the most immediate danger from stall two.

While this season has been slower than Lor expected, the trainer will aim to increase his tally of 43 wins with a five-strong team on Monday’s card.

The 58-year-old saddles last-start winner Keefy in the Class Two Hong Kong Reunification Cup (1,400m).

The All Too Hard gelding was winless since December 2022 but showed a clean pair of heels to fend off his Class Two opponents over this course and distance on June 2.

Keefy will jump from gate two as he bids to make it two wins from as many outings under in-form Mauritian jockey Karis Teetan.

“He’s good at the moment and last time he won off a slow pace,” Lor said. “We don’t know if the pace will be fast on Monday, but he keeps showing us that he’s in good form.

“Last season when he was also fit, he won over 1,600m and maybe all he needs is a little bit more time to win.”

Lor sits ninth in this season’s trainers’ championship and also has Less Is More, Lucky Impact and My Flying Angel representing his stable at Sha Tin’s 11-race twilight meeting.