Blinkers helped Fast Network elevate to a new high last start and Zac Purton is confident the talented sprinter can continue his winning ways at Sha Tin on Sunday.

After suffering his first defeat at start three when a luckless third to Alpha One, Fast Network bounced back emphatically when Dennis Yip Chor-hong made the crucial gear change.

The Wrote gelding cruised up to the leading pack at the 300m and exploded clear, bolting in by four and a half lengths while eased down by Purton in the Class Three BOCHK Wealth Management Handicap (1,000m).

The dominant performance led to him copping a 13-point ratings penalty and a jump to Class Two level for Sunday’s feature, the Lukfook Jewellery Cup (1,000m).

“He certainly looked like a different horse with blinkers on the other day,” Purton said. “He’s always been a horse that has floated along a bit and that was pretty evident in his first couple starts.

“When he took that gap with blinkers on, he just gapped them. He dropped them off. Sometimes with more experience, a bit more work and a couple more trials they can come on a bit.

“It’s always good to see them do it once, they just need to come out and back it up. He’s lightly raced and it would be nice to get him over a longer distance as well. That’s always been the plan, but he’s just stayed at 1,000m for now.”

Fast Network created an impression on his first two starts, winning on debut in June and on his seasonal reappearance in September by a combined three lengths.

Despite rising to Class Two level for the first time, he jumps five pounds on his last-start triumph to carry 129 in the 90-65-rated contest down the straight, while he has drawn barrier two.

His key rivals in the field of 10 include Healthy Healthy, who chases a third consecutive victory, four-time Sha Tin winner James Tak and the consistent Stellar Express.

Sitting just 24 wins behind Douglas Whyte’s all-time Hong Kong record of 1,813, Purton hopes the addition of blinkers will also aid Circuit Jolly in Sunday’s Class Four Lukfook Jewellery Love Is Beauty Collection Handicap (1,000m).

The David Hayes-trained gelding was poised to strike on his first two starts but attempted to jump a mark on the track at the 170m on both occasions.

“He’s been frustrating because clearly he had his first race won, then he jumped that mark on the track and lost all rhythm and balance,” Purton said of Circuit Jolly’s third on debut.

“Last time he did the same. We were going to go to the Valley to avoid it, but he trialled with blinkers on down the straight and he didn’t seem to notice the mark was there.

“We thought maybe we’ll just give him the chance to run down the straight. [The mark] seems to be more obvious on the inner part of the track than the outer and we’ve drawn the outside [barrier 13], so hopefully that helps.”

Purton has several other strong chances to add to his 49 victories this season. His book of nine rides also includes Charmander, Yoda’s Choice, Triumphant More, Beauty Alliance, Yuen Long Elite, Super Infinity and Packing Turbine.

“Super Infinity has started to find his confidence in his last couple of runs, but the wide draw [11] isn’t going to help,” Purton said.

“Packing Turbine isn’t a sprinter, so 1,200m was always going to be too short for him first up. Now we get him out to what’s going to be a more suitable distance. It will be interesting to see what he does.”