It has been a long couple of months for Harry Bentley, but the Englishman returned to Sha Tin with a bang on Sunday as he bagged his first Group winner in Hong Kong en route to a weekend double.

Bentley orchestrated a boilover and landed the biggest victory of his Hong Kong career in one fell swoop when he speared $25.35 shot Whizz Kid to success in the Group Three Bauhinia Sprint Trophy (1,000m).

Making his first appearance on the Sha Tin turf since the end of his lengthy ban for improper conduct, Bentley admitted the milestone victory was the perfect way to re-energise his season.

“It means an awful lot to me,” Bentley said. “Having had the last couple of months on the sidelines, it’s great to come back with a bang. A Group Three winner is just amazing and to cap it off with another win on the day was huge.”

Heading into Sunday’s feature, Whizz Kid was winless from his past 12 appearances and looked to have his work cut out from six pounds out of the handicap.

Jumping from barrier two, the five-year-old tracked the front-running Victor The Winner in the early stages before Bentley asked him for an effort at halfway. After hitting the front 400m from home, Whizz Kid responded to Bentley’s urgings and kept on strongly to record the biggest triumph of his 26-race career.

“I really enjoyed that. The horse ran a fantastic race and loved having a light weight on his back,” Bentley said. “He did it really well and quickened for me when asked to put the race to bed.

“Being a jockey is what I want to do and what I have always wanted to do, so to be watching at home is always hard.

“Having come back, you really feel like you have something to prove to show people you’re still here and you’re more than capable of doing the job. It’s my first Group win in Hong Kong and I’ve got that monkey off my back now.”

While Whizz Kid’s winning time of 56.86 seconds was the slowest in the Group Three dash since Premiere’s victory in 2018, the performance earned plenty of plaudits from the gelding’s trainer, Tony Cruz.

“I must give the credit to Harry Bentley. He rode a perfect race,” Cruz said. “I told him to jump and go with the flow and he did exactly that. I’m definitely going to give him more opportunities in my stable. He’s very natural and he’s got good hands. I reckon we haven’t seen the best of him yet in Hong Kong.”

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Bentley did not have to wait long to take his season tally to nine and secure a double on the day when he reunited with the Douglas Whyte-trained Blue Marlin in the Class Three Lai King Handicap (1,400m).

After Blue Marlin recorded back-to-back wins with Bentley in the plate to start the season, the five-year-old gelding was unable to add to his tally while the British rider was away, missing the placings three times under three different jockeys.

“This horse has been great to me,” Bentley said. “I’ve won on him four times now and three this season, so his performance speaks for itself. He gave me a great feel throughout the race. I was always comfortable with how he was going and it was great to get his head in front again.”