Manfred Man Ka-leung has earmarked the Group Two Sprint Cup (1,200m) on March 30 for star sprinter Lucky Sweynesse’s long-awaited return from injury.

Not seen at the races since fracturing a cannon bone in his Sprint Cup triumph last April, the four-time Group One winner has been ticking over since finishing last under a quiet James McDonald ride in a Sha Tin trial on December 17.

“Lucky Sweynesse is OK,” Man said. “He keeps training and I think the target is in March. He will trial at the end of this month or next month.”

Lucky Sweynesse will be chasing a third straight Sprint Cup victory if he takes his place in the HK$5.35 million contest.

The now six-year-old also won the feature in his spectacular 2022-23 season, which was crowned by his clean sweep of Hong Kong’s Speed Series – the Group One Centenary Sprint Cup (1,200m), Group One Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1,400m) and Group One Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1,200m).

Man was back in the winners’ enclosure at Sha Tin on Sunday, with Dragon Four Seas breaking through for his first win in the first section of the Class Four Wu Kau Tang Handicap (1,200m).

Backed as if unbeatable, the $1.9 favourite ran on strongly from midfield under Derek Leung Ka-chun to see off Solar River by half a length.

“It was a nice surprise,” Man said of Dragon Four Seas, who was placed on two of his eight starts before his first success.

“He’s consistent but he’s always been unlucky. He doesn’t like being stuck in between other horses.”

De Melo’s dirt delight

Keagan de Melo’s frustrating season took a turn for the better on Sunday, with the South African jockey bagging his fifth victory courtesy of Hong Kong debutant Mask Rider.

De Melo snapped a drought of 40 rides with his first success since November 20.

“Obviously we know it’s been a bit slow for me, but hopefully it picks up from here and I’m just grateful for the support I do get,” De Melo said.

De Melo helped orchestrate a big upset on Mask Rider, who was sent off a $28.35 chance in the Class Three Hung Mui Kuk Handicap (1,200m).

Fired straight to the front from gate one, the son of Justify relished the all-weather surface to shoot well clear in the straight en route to a one-and-a-quarter-length triumph.

“He’s shown glimpses of ability. Obviously you don’t know how strong the trials were coming into this, but drawing gate one helps a lot and he was able to get the lead without any fuss. He was [then] able to sprint home, which was impressive as well,” De Melo said.

Trainer Chris So Wai-yin wasn’t overly confident going into Mask Rider’s Hong Kong debut, but his new connections persuaded him to test the three-time Australian winner on the dirt.

“I have to give the credit to the owners,” So said.

“They suggested putting him on the dirt first. His trials were even and for his first start, I wasn’t very confident. Honestly, I didn’t expect him to win his first start, but I thought he would run well.

“The draw helped. In the straight, the horse went and nobody could catch him. I’m a bit surprised.”

Mask Rider previously raced as Spicy Legend for Hong Kong owner Boniface Ho Ka-kui, landing one win on the Gold Coast synthetic track and two victories on the Ipswich turf from his 14 pre-import starts.

He clinched a double for So on Sunday after the handler also struck with Sunny Da Best in the second section of the Class Four Wu Kau Tang Handicap (1,200m).

“He ran well last time but was very unlucky. I think he can still win in Class Three,” So said.

Daddy does it again

Eight-year-old Excellent Daddy continued his form resurgence with a second straight win in the Class Five Wu Kai Sha Handicap (1,200m) on the dirt.

After ending an 18-month winning drought with an upset triumph in December, the Benno Yung Tin-pang-trained gelding struck again when he charged from near last under Luke Ferraris.

He scored by a neck from Patch Of Watch, handing Yung his seventh winner from the past seven Sha Tin fixtures.

“Last season he had a bad health issue, but now he’s fully recovered and he’s got his confidence back,” Yung said after Excellent Daddy notched his fourth win from 36 starts.

“Earlier this season, it seemed like he lost his interest in racing, but I just tried a different surface and the dirt has helped him.”