Francis Lui Kin-wai has another potential Group One miler on his hands after Patch Of Theta bagged his first feature win with an emphatic Group Three Chinese Club Challenge Cup (1,400m) success at Sha Tin on Wednesday.

Four months after champion miler Golden Sixty was officially retired, Lui plans to thrust Patch Of Theta into the top level with a clash with Voyage Bubble in the Group One Stewards’ Cup (1,600m) on January 19 on the cards.

Starting the $2.2 favourite in the biggest test of his short career, the five-year-old capitalised on a feather weight of 115 pounds to bolt in by a length and three-quarters under Karis Teetan on Wednesday.

“He showed he’s a really honest horse and he keeps improving every time,” Lui said after Patch Of Theta joined Golden Sixty (2020) on the Chinese Club Challenge Cup honour roll.

“After the race, [Teetan] told me the horse was very good and he’s got a third gear, not [just] a second gear.

“Now he can run between 1,400m and 1,600m, next time we will think about the Stewards’ Cup.”

Golden Sixty won 10 Group Ones, including the Stewards’ Cup in 2021 and 2023, among his 26 victories from 31 starts and HK$167.17 million in prize money.

A HK$8.6 million Hong Kong International Sale Graduate in 2023, Patch Of Theta proved himself at the mile with a dominant success in the Class Two Chevalier Cup on his start prior to Wednesday’s win.

Teetan won the Chinese Club Challenge Cup for the third time, having booted home Fifty Fifty (2018) and Champion’s Way (2021), and was full of praise for Patch Of Theta.

The Mauritian pushed the Zoustar gelding forward from gate seven to land fourth on the fence and he launched a strong run three off the fence in the straight to blow his rivals away.

“I think today he’s shown that he’s got that class,” Teetan said.

“He got into a nice rhythm and on the first turn he started travelling a bit with me and I was trying to settle him.

“Once he knows how to race properly, he’s going to be even better. But with that weight on his back, he went through them and when I got into him in the straight, he changed gear pretty quickly and I knew the race was done.”

Teetan bounced back into the winners’ enclosure after a quiet period, scoring just one win in December while missing three meetings due to suspension.

Drombeg Banner, who was also in feature company for the first time, set a solid speed in front for Andrea Atzeni and kept fighting to hold on for second.

Green N White finished strongly for third ahead of Chiu Chow Spirit, with each of the top four home carrying the limit weight of 115 pounds.

Multiple Group One winner California Spangle raced well below his best, dropping out to finish ninth after trailing Drombeg Banner in running.

Elsewhere, Lui went close to bagging a double when Steps Ahead stormed home to fall a head short of victory in the final race, the Class Three Chuk Yuen Handicap (1,600m).

While he went close to a third career victory, Steps Ahead lost no admirers heading towards the first leg of the four-year-old series, the Classic Mile on January 31.

Jimmy Ting Koon-ho’s Huge Wave got the better of Steps Ahead to score an upset victory at $24.55 under Harry Bentley.