Caspar Fownes is targeting the Panasonic Cup at Sha Tin on November 14 for Megastar Heart after the injury-plagued five-year-old continued his remarkable turnaround by recording a second successive victory on Sunday.
Megastar Heart has been one of the most difficult horses Fownes has had to keep sound and he followed his breakthrough Hong Kong victory a fortnight earlier by defeating Pi Legend by two lengths in Race 10, the Class 3 Lukfook Jewellery Longmen Vajra Collection Handicap (1,200m).
Luke Ferraris was again aboard as Megastar Heart made light of a seven-pound rise to 130 pounds, setting a Class 3 course-and-distance record of 1:07.75 after jumping from barrier one.
This season's Panasonic Cup is a Class 2 contest over 1,200 meters, and Megastar Heart needed another ratings boost.
“I said to the owner, even before this race, ‘Look, I want to run him in this race here because he needs the points, obviously, to get into Class 2. I think we'll get it done,’” Fownes said.
“He drew a soft gate today, which helped him again. But again, that race comes up in three weeks, on November 14, and it looks a nice race going forward for him.
“So if things stay the way they are, he's going to be a live chance in Class 2, which should be awesome.”
It is an encouraging position for a horse who went into Sunday's race rated just 75, and Fownes is already considering how much further he might progress.
“I think he's a quality horse. I said to you before, I'm confident he's going to get into triple figures, but he could even be better than that going forward.
“If he stays sound – he's won it pretty soft, he's run a good time – he's just going to keep improving.”
For much of Megastar Heart's first season in Hong Kong, however, such ambitions would have seemed a long way off.
Fownes said the son of Star Turn had suffered severe lameness problems before arriving in July 2025, and his troubles continued after joining the stable.
Jockey Club trackwork records show Megastar Heart went 51 days without conventional trackwork between late August and mid-October 2025, spending time swimming and later exercising on an aqua walker.
He resumed trotting in late October but spent much of the following winter swimming or working on a treadmill. His first recorded gallop did not come until Feb. 25 this year, and three unplaced starts followed before the summer break.
The difficulty of getting Megastar Heart back to winning form became apparent even to Fownes after the horse's breakthrough earlier this month.
“I had the vets from overseas texting me when he won last time, saying it was unbelievable that I'd done it,” Fownes said.
“For me, it means a lot for the team. Everyone's worked hard, you know. The boys in the background are just putting in their effort, working hard, and it's good to get these types of horses to perform.”
Megastar Heart has finally started to show what he can do on the racetrack, but Fownes knows there is still plenty of work involved in keeping him there.
“He's a beast of a horse, 1,250 pounds,” Fownes said.
“We'll just be getting there in the morning, hoping that he stays together and just keeps working with us. His fitness level's good now, so exciting days ahead.
“Everyone from the outside thinks it's easy. They don't know what we have to do behind the scenes to keep horses together, persevere and nurse them to fitness.
“So, yeah, it's big. One of the best ones.
“Hopefully we keep going so we can really enjoy it.”
