Kempes came from the clouds to complete a brilliant Sha Tin double for David Hall in the Class Three Shanghai Handicap (1,200m) on Wednesday.

Green-lamped into $31.35, Kempes was drawn in the car park in stall 14 and was parked last behind a wall of horses on the rail under Andrea Atzeni as the field turned for home.

The Sardinian weaved through horses despite limited room and despite being snatched up just before the 100m pole, Atzeni finally got daylight and burst into the lead in the final stride without using his whip.

It was a remarkable performance from a horse who was yet to salute from seven Hong Kong starts before Wednesday, but the ability was clearly there as an Argentinian Group One winner and Hall was relieved to see it come together.

“I suppose it was a surprise, you know from stall 14 where you’re going to be in the run and you’re going to need a lot of luck to win, but there were obviously a few punters out there that thought he had a chance with the market,” said Hall.

“We’ve always believed in his ability – he’s been a difficult horse to get acclimatized. We’ve had a few problems and a few different issues, but his last trial was very good and it was just good to see him show the talent that we know he’s got.

“He had a few issues when he came, he was a bit hot and a bit revved up, he wanted to overdo things and then he had a bit of trouble with his back and he’s not an easy horse to work with. He was disappointing.

“Thankfully we’ve got a patient owner who knows the game very well himself, so he stuck with us and it was great to get the job done today.”

Hall was also full of praise for the superb ride by Atzeni, though there were a few heart-in-mouth moments along the way.

“Andrea is Andrea, he’s proven himself worldwide and he knows how to get the job done. He always had a handful of horse and he’s had to navigate without falling down,” said Hall.

“Sometimes their job looks easy and sometimes you think, ‘my God, how dangerous it can be’. Just luckily we got the run at the right time and the job done on the line.”

Hall’s other winner came earlier on the card, when Ragnarr broke his duck at the 25th time of asking in the Class Five Nanning Handicap (1,200m).

Zac Purton never really had a worry, sitting one off just in front of midfield before unleashing his mount in the straight to get the better of Noble Deluxe and Hugh Bowman in a ding-dong finish.

Atzeni joined Hall with a double, producing another pearler to get Sunny Q up to win the Class Four Chongqing Handicap (1,200m).

It was another ride where Atzeni had a wall of horses to pass as he turned in with just one behind, but the 34-year-old never panicked and stuck to the inside route, sliding up the inside of Do Your Part late to score.