Frankie Lor Fu-chuen will unleash several of his stars on a key day for the stable at Sha Tin on Sunday, including Classic Cup (1,800m) winner Stormy Grove and Lucky With You in the Group Three Celebration Cup (1,400m).

The highlight of Sunday’s card features a stacked field, with the likes of Galaxy Patch, Helios Express, Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) winner Invincible Ibis and Classic Mile hero Little Paradise among the hopefuls.

Stormy Grove – a one-time winner pre-import in Australia – was winless in his first five local starts, but really came to life when stepped up in trip to the mile and beyond.

Winning a restricted Class Three over the mile distance, he then surged home from the clouds to defeat Invincible Ibis in the Classic Cup before running a huge race for third in the Derby behind that rival.

His season ended on a low when he bled from both nostrils in May, but he has been in rude health since and Lor is hopeful it was a one-time occurrence for his promising galloper, who will be partnered by Jerry Chau Chun-lok.

“The last time he raced, he bled, so we gave him a long break,” Lor said. “I’ve only trialled him once so of course, he’s not 100 per cent fit – maybe he is 80 per cent fit for this run.

“I think 1,400m might be a bit short for him, but I just want to give him a race and then we can plan again – the next step will be 1,600m.

“It’s hard to know [if a bleed will happen again], but we scoped him after the trial and it was clean, so I hope we can keep him healthy.

“Long-term plans are hard to say, but at the moment we are looking at the Hong Kong Mile in December.”

Lor will also run Lucky With You in the Group Three contest, with the veteran nine-year-old looking for a first win since March 2025 with Matthew Poon Ming-fai aboard.

His best performance of last season came on his final start, finishing a short-head second in Class Two company. He returned this campaign with a fifth behind Ka Ying Rising in the champion sprinter’s record-breaking win in the Group Three HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup (1,200m).

“The time was just too fast for the old man,” Lor said. “1,200m is probably better for him, but I think 1,400m will be OK; the owner wants to give him a chance to see how he runs over it.”

Perhaps the most interesting of Lor’s Sunday runners is Salon S, who improved hand over fist last season and makes his reappearance in the Class Two Magpie Handicap (1,200m) with Poon in the saddle.

The Zousain galloper racked up four wins on the spin to begin his career, really catching the eye with his tearaway front-running style, where he carted Poon through the early stages before finding enough reserves to keep up the relentless gallop.

He lost his unbeaten record with a fourth on his first run at Class Two level in April, but he lost very little in defeat that day and remains a really exciting prospect this campaign.

Now a four-year-old, the Classic Series would be the obvious target for him, but much depends on how he settles in the early stages of his races and a change of tactics might help him learn just that.

“I think in this race, there are a lot of horses who are fast and want to be in the front. I want to try and make him settle down a bit, or to try and quieten him down in the early stages and maybe follow some horses,” Lor said.

“We have put the tongue tie on him and he looks a little bit better with it on. We need to see in the race to learn more about how it will work.

“We will try to aim him for the Classic Mile – I think 1,600m will be OK but I’m not sure at the moment if 1,800m will be.”

Lor, who is looking for his first winner of the campaign, will also have Daily Fun, Run Run Sunrise, Chiu Chow Golf and The Red Hare to bolster his prospects.

The latter was a dual winner last campaign and made a promising reappearance when sixth on opening day at Sha Tin. He aims for a third local win in the Class Three Kestrel Handicap (1,400m) with Poon also aboard.

“He looked good after his return and he looks to have improved for it,” Lor said. “He didn’t have a good draw that day and with a better draw here, I think he can run a good race.”