Mark Newnham is not worrying about another potential trainers’ championship fight and instead is looking to smash past the 50-win barrier once again as he gears up for another Hong Kong racing season.

Last campaign was a real breakout for Newnham, who enjoyed Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) success with Invincible Ibis and also snagged his first local Group One when My Wish charged home to win the Champions Mile in April.

He also found himself brawling with Caspar Fownes and Danny Shum Chap-shing for the trainers’ title, only falling short in the final few meetings and ending the campaign with a strong 61 winners.

The title race is far from Newnham’s mind as he looks ahead to a new season, however, with building on last year’s foundations what he is looking for.

“We’ll just aim to have a similar season and worry about the title come June – if you just follow the same processes you’ll get a number of winners that’s good enough to win the title, we’ll wait and see,” Newnham said.

“Any season you have 50 winners in Hong Kong, you’ve done particularly well – that generally puts you in the top half-dozen. I think every year, 50 would be a really good number and after that, it’s extra good.”

Newnham will be doubly represented in the Class Two Albert Handicap (1,400m) on Sunday, with consistent pair Infinite Resolve and Max Que flying the flag in one of the day’s feature handicaps.

Max Que was a four-time winner last season for the stable, ending the campaign with a narrow defeat in the Class One Hong Kong Racehorse Owners Association Trophy (1,600m), while Infinite Resolve found life trickier after a stand-out second in the Classic Mile behind Little Paradise.

“They both always perform well – I’d say Max Que’s probably reached a rating where it’s going to be difficult for him, but he did run well throughout last season,” Newnham said.

“Infinite Resolve has run well in Class Two down in the weights, so it looks to be a race where they’ll go a good gallop that would suit both of my horses.

“We’ll just see how the race pans out, but they’re both going well.”

Another flag bearer from last season was the prolific Lucky Sam Gor, who contests the Class Three Cotton Tree Handicap (1,400m) needing to defy top weight of 135lb.

The Press Statement galloper racked up five wins last season and after ending the campaign with a good second to Complete Unknown at Sha Tin, Newnham is hoping he can take another step forward despite the rise in the weights.

“He maintained his form really well through the season – it’s not easy to get five wins in a season and still perform to that rating at the end,” Newnham said.

“It does set him up for a difficult season this time around, but he trialled well the other day and he’s fit enough to run well. What he needs is a genuine speed in the race, which looks debatable at this stage, though.”

Joyful Joy caused a $54 upset when making a winning debut for Newnham back in May and, after backing that up with a good third subsequently, he will look to get back to winning ways in the Class Four Fenwick Handicap (1,400m) from barrier five.

“First run of the season carrying 135lb is not an easy task, but his form was good and both his runs have been excellent,” said Newnham.

“I expect he’ll take improvement from that and should be able to achieve more than Class Four level, so I’m looking forward to getting him started.”