After a testing start to the campaign, Ellis Wong Chi-wang righted the ship with a brilliant double at Sha Tin on Sunday, headlined by Alpha Strike’s wayward win in the Class Three Wah Fu Handicap (1,000m).

Winless on day one, Wong was then hit with a two-day ban at Happy Valley on Wednesday, but things can change quickly in racing and the 25-year-old was back in the winner’s enclosure with two vastly different successes.

“I’m just trying to do my best this season, I got a lot of support last season and I’m hoping to get even more support from outside and ride more winners than I did last time,” Wong said.

“I got a lot of suspensions last season too and this season I’m trying to improve that. Sometimes when I get suspended, I will talk with Caspar Fownes and of course, I will find Felix [Coetzee, jockey coach] sometimes too, to ask about the suspensions and to review my rides and what he suggests.”

Wong will be hoping Sunday is the start of that goal flourishing, though Alpha Strike’s win left the young rider with plenty of anxious moments.

Breaking well from stall 10 up the straight, the Fownes-trained $11.25 chance took up the lead from an early stage and had the $1.5 favourite Solid State in trouble almost immediately.

Alpha Strike started to edge clear 300m out but Wong received no help from his mount, who began to hang alarmingly from the stands rail towards the inside of the track.

Ultimately, the I Am Immortal galloper saluted by a length and a quarter despite his unwillingness to go straight.

“He was hanging so badly – he jumped well and I actually got to the outside fence, he was fighting with me and when I started to improve him, he fought me all the way to the line,” Wong said.

“I couldn’t even whip him and he still won the race, which was quite a surprise for me.”

The victory was also a surprise for Fownes, though it was for a different reason.

“It was a very pleasant surprise to see the horse [win] – I really thought [Solid State] was in a different class. So, for us to win that race, we’re very, very happy,” said Fownes.

“The horse had been working well, trialled very well here around 10 days ago and looks in really good form. He won first up for us [last season] and now hopefully he can go on with it again. He’s a nice horse going forward.

“He’s had a few issues, which we’ve handled and now hope he can go on with it. We’re happy to try the dirt next time or the grass, so it will give him more opportunity to go around a turn and see how he performs.”

Fownes also gave praise to Wong, with the pair maintaining a strong partnership last season despite the presence of Joao Moreira as stable jockey towards the end of the campaign.

“Very happy for Ellis, he’s been working very hard so he deserves some luck coming his way. I hope he can continue to improve,” Fownes said.

Luck Is Back was a far more straightforward assignment for Wong, who never had an anxious moment on Pierre Ng Pang-chi’s $32.8 roughie in the Class Four Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Challenge Cup (1,600m).

It was 22nd-time lucky in Hong Kong for the dual Brazilian Group One winner, who smashed out of stall seven and soon built up a two-length lead over his rivals.

Turning for home on top by a similar margin, the pair briefly looked in trouble as the field stacked up at the top of the straight, but Wong had kept plenty up his sleeve and drove his mount clear to win by a length and a quarter.

It was a long time coming for Ng, who took over the training duties of Luck Is Back from Francis Lui Kin-wai towards the end of last season.

“We actually planned to be behind the pace today, but the leader wasn’t fast enough today and he was fast – he just rolled along smoothly and led them all the way,” said Ng.

“It was a very good performance and hopefully he can get more results during the season.”

Elsewhere on Sunday’s card, Nichola Yuen Hang-yiu doubled her tally for the campaign with victory aboard the Me Tsui Yu-sak-trained Lucy In The Sky in the Class Three Oi Tung Handicap (1,200m).

Brown-lamped on seasonal return when fourth at Sha Tin seven days ago, the son of No Nay Never showed the benefit of the run with a dominant performance to win by an easy length and three-quarters.

Breaking well from barrier seven, Lucy In The Sky travelled powerfully throughout the contest and after weakening late last week, could have been seen as vulnerable after using plenty of petrol in the early stages.

The tank was barely touched, however, and Yuen was still sat bolt upright approaching the 300m pole. When the button was pushed, Lucy In The Sky shot clear and won in the style of a horse with plenty in reserve.

Those thoughts were echoed by his trainer Tsui, who is hoping his promising sort can climb the ladder after recovering from a bad bleed last campaign.

“Last week he still ran good, but it was a little faster pace and he was too fresh, so wasn’t easy to hold onto. After last week, he was more stable and the 10lb helped a lot,” Tsui said.

“I think he will improve because he took a long rest from last season and didn’t run much. I think he still has something in hand and I just need to keep his mind improving.”