The impressive Californiatotality continued his march up the ratings with his fifth win of the campaign at Happy Valley on Wednesday night.

In a well-run Class Two Choi Hung Handicap (1,650m), Tony Cruz’s improver sat midfield under Alexis Badel behind the pace set by Telecom Fighers and stalking $2 favourite Soleil Fighter.

Badel was hard at work against the rail at the end of the back straight and Californiatotality looked in trouble, but the Zoustar gelding responded well to his urgings and once in the clear, he scuttled up the rail to beat Soleil Fighter by a neck.

And bigger targets could now await the four-year-old, who ran in two legs of this year’s Classic Series.

“He’s a versatile horse – this distance was a bit short but he had a good gate and had every chance to win,” said Cruz.

“His next run will be in the Group Three Premier Plate on June 22 at Sha Tin over 1,800m. There’s nowhere else to go with the horse – 1,800m is the perfect distance for him.”

The win means Californiatotality is two-from-two at Class Two level and he has the same record under jockey Badel, who was full of praise for his willing partner.

“He’s lovely. He actually surprised me. I didn’t have such [high] expectation and he did very well,” said Badel.

“He had a good draw [in barrier two], so I had cover and he travelled lovely and waited for a signal and he quickened when I needed him to do it. It was a promising win.”

The win was part of a double for Cruz, with Kingly Demeanor winning the opening Class Five Yue Wan Handicap (1,800m) to give the trainer his 500th winner as a handler at the city circuit.

Keith Yeung Ming-lun took the speedy five-year-old to the front soon after the break and never looked back, making all the running for a cosy victory.

It was another landmark for Cruz soon after he rung up a combined 2,500 Hong Kong wins as a jockey and trainer – not that the 68-year-old keeps count.

“It’s great to get to 500,” Cruz said. “This is where I started my career and I’ve had a lot of winners here as a jockey and trainer, so it’s great.

“I had no idea I was close to 500 wins, so thank you for keeping count.”

Meanwhile, Ricky Yiu Poon-fai and Matthew Poon Ming-fai teamed up for a double with Sure Joyful and Hayday saluting.

Their good night kicked off with Sure Joyful’s gutsy win in the Class Four Wu King Handicap (1,650m), fending off a stern late challenge from Midori Fuji.

And things got even better later on the card when Hayday crossed over from stall 10 and made all the running in the second section of the Class Four Tin Sau Handicap (1,200m).

It continued an exciting period for jockey Poon, who will fly to Australia to ride Klondike in the Group One Doomben Cup (2,000m) on May 24 for joint-trainers John O’Shea and Tom Charlton.

Jockey Lyle Hewitson also got in on the act with his own double on Wednesday night, first riding Seasons Wit through the field to win the Class Three Choi Wan Handicap (1,000m) before striking on King Lotus for trainer Mark Newnham in the first section of the Tin Sau Handicap.

Newnham himself slotted a double in the final race when Crimson Flash kept on kicking to win the Class Three Hoi Lai Handicap (1,200m).