Zac Purton is confident Stunning Peach can build on a promising start to his Hong Kong career when the European Group One placegetter steps up in trip at Sha Tin on Saturday.

Shaping as a Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) prospect for next season, the Wootton Basset colt arrived in the city with a formidable record after two wins and three seconds for Irish trainer Joseph O’Brien.

Known as Islandsinthestream, he ran second in the Group One Criterium de Saint-Cloud (1,800m) in France and the Group One Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes (1,400m) and Group Two Futurity Stakes (1,400m) in Ireland.

Now trained by Tony Cruz, Stunning Peach laboured on a yielding Sha Tin surface over 1,600m first up but bounced back to run a slashing second to Voyage Samurai over the same trip last start.

Purton has been impressed by the three-year-old and expects him to improve in Saturday’s Class Three POLA Cup (1,800m).

“It’s a really big ask for him to do what he’s doing at the moment,” Purton said. “He’s really only a two-year-old. He’s very lightly framed and he’s had to carry top weight at both his starts.

“He struck a wet track at his first start which I don’t think suited him – fitness-wise, having to carry the big weight and the tempo of the races here in Hong Kong all just went against him.

“But he tried hard and then he got on to a bit of a drier track last time and with the benefit of a run, he was able to carry the weight a little bit more comfortably and I expect him to keep improving.”

Stunning Peach ran on strongly from midfield to be beaten a length and a half by Voyage Samurai last start, who is an emerging galloper with three wins from five starts.

“He’s a progressive horse, Voyage Samurai,” Purton said. “The form around him is solid, so he’s a good measuring stick. Now we go up in trip, so hopefully my bloke gets in to a bit more of a rhythm and that will help him as well.

“He’s a long way from being the finished product. He’s going to be a better horse in six or 12 months and he’s a stayer.

“His light frame is going to come to the fore when he gets up over more of a trip, but he’s certainly a promising horse. I like what he’s been doing so far.”

Stunning Peach will again carry the top weight of 135 pounds and he jumps from barrier two.

“He’s shown in both of his starts he’s got some gate speed, which is a little bit unusual for a European horse, but he seems to have adapted to the place here quite quickly and I think it just illustrates how intelligent he is,” Purton said.

Another last-start runner-up who has strong claims for Purton on Saturday is Super Infinity, who tackles the Class Four Hong Kong Riding For The Disabled Association Cup (1,200m).

The Mark Newnham-trained galloper loomed as the winner on debut, but was outmuscled late by The Winnabe when beaten half a length.

“It was a really good effort,” Purton said. “He’s a horse that hasn’t got a lot of gate speed, so he gets back which is never ideal, but they went along at a good speed last time, he came into the race at the right time and I thought he was going to swoop past them and go away and win comfortably.

“But to the winner’s credit, he might be a nice horse and it looks like he was sleeping a little bit until he had some competition and he was strong and kicked away from them.

“My horse might have just run out of condition a little bit as well, he only went in there with a couple of trials and he should improve off that run.”

My Intelligent, Fast Network, Dream Pursuer, Copartner Prance and Lucky Touch are Purton’s other rides at the twilight meeting.