Victor The Winner will look to join four-time Group One winner Wellington as a two-time conqueror of Lucky Sweynesse in Sunday’s Group Two Premier Bowl (1,200m).

Considered the world’s best sprinter, Lucky Sweynesse has won 13 of his 18 starts, and in his five losses, only Wellington has twice finished in front of the speedster.

Victor The Winner prevailed in his opening-day clash with Lucky Sweynesse, putting two and a half lengths on the 131-rated galloper in the Class One HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup (1,200m), but jockey Karis Teetan knows his mount will have to be even better to topple the Group One star again.

“It did look pretty easy towards the end, but there were a lot of favours going his way compared to Lucky Sweynesse. We had the condition of the track on our side, we had a light weight, and we got an easy section, but he won impressively,” Teetan said.

On a yielding Sha Tin surface, Teetan controlled the race from the front aboard Victor The Winner, and the son of Toronado was not for catching as he reeled off a final 400m of 21.4 seconds.

Purton found himself four or so lengths off Victor The Winner while ensuring he did not give Lucky Sweynesse a gut-busting first-up run in a contest many questioned his presence in, but the Australian is likely to want to be a touch closer through the early stages this weekend.

“It depends what Manfred [Man Ka-leung] asks me to do,” Purton said when asked about his potential tactics from gate five in the six-horse contest.

“Like always with Lucky Sweynesse, you’ve got to see how he jumps first because he can get the start wrong and be a bit slow out, so it will probably depend on how he jumps.

“Every race is different. They all map differently. It just depends what kind of opposition you’re up against, but there are similar runners to what he faced last time.”

Victor The Winner will go forward from the outside barrier in a race also featuring Sight Success, Duke Wai, Stoltz and Adios, and Purton knows Lucky Sweynesse could have his work cut out again.

“[Victor The Winner] isn’t going to have any pressure, so if he runs home in 21.4 again, he’s going to be hard to catch,” Purton said, adding he expects significant improvement from his three-time Group One-winning mount.

“He’s certainly getting better. His action is becoming more fluent. He’s handling his work a little bit better.

From deep sand to deep end: Duke prepares for Sweynesse showdown in Premier Bowl

“He’s not at his best yet. He’s going to work his way towards that. He just needs racing, like a lot of these horses, and he’s quite a strong horse, so when he gets to step out on race day and gets the competition into him, he’s going to continue to improve.”

Lucky Sweynesse meets Victor The Winner three pounds better off compared to their last clash, but Teetan believes his mount is more than progressive enough to offset the added impost with some improvement of his own.

“Of course, he’s got a few more pounds to carry this time, but the horse is doing well. We have a lot of respect for Lucky Sweynesse, but Victor The Winner is a progressive horse, and I think that last win has brought him a bit of confidence, so I think he’s going to be competitive again,” Teetan said.