Flying colors

David Eustace was always under the impression Colourful King would thrive at Happy Valley, so it's no wonder the in-form trainer took plenty of satisfaction out of his sprinter getting off the mark at the tight-turning track last month.

"I thought the Valley might suit because he's sharp in everything he does," Eustace said of his galloper, who runs on tonight's card in a Class 3 contest over 1,000 meters. "He jumps well, he travels well and he quickens nicely."

After a promising preparation and local debut at Sha Tin, Colourful King and Andrea Atzeni left it right until the winning post to chin the front-running Youthful Spirits on his first start at Happy Valley on March 19.

While Eustace initially thought his charge had not quite done enough to pip Mark Newnham's reliable front-runner after the race, the judge decided otherwise after a long time deliberating.

"I don't think anyone thought he'd won except Andrea and he was on the horse's back so he couldn't tell us," Eustace laughed. "Luck was definitely on our side then and hopefully it is again [on Wednesday]."

With a first Hong Kong treble under his belt at Sha Tin on Sunday, Eustace will look to continue his purple patch courtesy of his five-strong team at Happy Valley tonight.

While his 23 winners for the campaign are not enough to break into the top 10 of the trainers' championship in terms of sheer number of victories, his overall strike rate of 11 percent is only bettered by the current championship leader, John Size, after 60 of the season's 88 fixtures.

His squad is headlined by the promising Colourful King and Eustace hopes his Australian import will be able to replicate those same tactics that caught Youthful Spirits, whom he opposes three pounds worse off at the weights, last time out.

"He's got to improve as they all have to when they win, but it looks like they'll go fairly quick and he's got a nice gate in barrier four just to stalk and be strong late," Eustace said.

"He has trained on well after the race and I'm really happy with him. He's a bit more relaxed having had the run and he's gained a little bit of weight so I think he's held his form well."

Eustace also expects a big run from the ever-consistent Jumbo Fortune, who runs in the seventh race on the program after three consecutive placings.

"I'm very happy with him and he's racing better than earlier in the year," he said. "It's a shame he hasn't been able to win but he's been extremely consistent and hopefully things can go his way."