A lacklustre trial that caught the attention of stewards has failed to shake Hugh Bowman’s belief that Helios Express will improve significantly on Sunday, while the jockey also has high hopes for stablemate Red Lion after an encouraging return.

While John Size’s horses are rarely fully tested or figure prominently in trials, Helios Express’ distant last – beaten a whopping 27 lengths – behind superstar Ka Ying Rising last week raised some eyebrows and prompted a probe by stewards.

Bowman said the multiple Group One placegetter failed to handle the dirt surface, which had been hit by rain on the morning of the trial, and he elected not to push the classy sprinter out in the straight.

“He never trials well. That was worse than usual, but the track was dreadful,” Bowman said.

“I didn’t want to start getting aggressive with him. He put in enough effort as far as I was concerned around the turn and I pushed him and he picked up, but he wasn’t really enjoying it. He did his work and that’s what he was there to do. He’s done that before on that track.”

Bowman expects Helios Express to naturally improve from his first-up fifth to Tomodachi Kokoroe in the Group Two Premier Bowl (1,200m) when he lumped top weight of 135lb.

“I’m sure he’ll go better. Although he’s got better horses to compete against, he’s better in at the weights and I wasn’t disappointed with him first up,” he said.

“It probably looked under par to the eye but the time was crazy, he had the top weight and he just blew out, so he’ll take natural improvement from that.”

Helios Express drops 12lb on Sunday but again bumps into Ka Ying Rising, who bids for a 15th straight victory, as well as the in-form Tomodachi Kokoroe.

Helios Express lived in Ka Ying Rising’s shadow last season, placing behind the world’s best sprinter in seven consecutive races.

In Sunday’s Group Two BOCHK Private Wealth Jockey Club Mile, Bowman hops back aboard Red Lion after his unlucky 10th when trapped wide throughout behind My Wish in the Group Two Sha Tin Trophy (1,600m).

The tough performance under Richard Kingscote drew praise from Bowman.

“I thought his run was excellent first up,” said the Australian rider, who guided Red Lion to an upset victory over Voyage Bubble in the Group One Champions Mile in April.

“Things just didn’t work out for him. He was there for a first-up hit-out, but I was rapt with him. He went better than I expected.

“It’s a good race and he’s going well. He’ll improve more after this race, but he’s forward enough to be competitive.”

Red Lion carries an extra 5lb over his 12 rivals, which are headlined by emerging star My Wish, for his Group One success earlier this year.

While Bowman doesn’t have a ride in the Group Two BOCHK Jockey Club Cup (2,000m), Size has dual representation in the form of Group Three winners Bundle Award and Ensued, who face a big challenge against Romantic Warrior and Voyage Bubble.

Size has seven runners across the trio of Group Two features, with Raging Blizzard and Wunderbar joining Helios Express in the Sprint and Beauty Eternal joining Red Lion in the Mile.