The holidays are officially over, and the 2025-26 Hong Kong racing season is upon us.

There are 88 meetings, 840-odd races and endless possibilities with fortunes to be won and lost.

So let’s go fishing and get in the mood for the new term with some (educated) guesses about what might happen.

My Wish to blossom

The Classic Mile has been won by the likes of Romantic Warrior, Voyage Bubble and Helios Express in recent years – no pressure, My Wish.

His brilliant run in the Group One Champions Mile to end last season showed that the up and comer was a horse to follow this term and he has the makings of a galloper who will improve with further racing.

At the age of five, he can take the next step and bag a Group One on the big stage for Mark Newnham. Owen Goulding.

Purton to hit 2,000 by May

There doesn’t seem to be a season where Zac Purton isn’t ticking off a record or significant milestone of some sort and 2025-26 looms as no different.

Fresh off breaking Douglas Whyte’s Hong Kong record of 1,813 victories and bagging his eighth Hong Kong premiership last season, Purton enters the new campaign sitting on 1,878 successes in the city and with another big number in his sights.

He’d have to go at a slightly higher clip than the past couple of seasons to hit 2,000 wins by the end of May, but if anyone can do it, it’s the superstar Australian. Sam Agars.

Eustace to elevate to top three

David Eustace made a splash with 36 wins in his first Hong Kong campaign and a sharp rise up the trainers’ championship would not be a surprise.

The British handler boasts a team of 71 horses – second only behind David Hayes (73) – and looks to have an ideal mix of unraced prospects, intriguing imports and proven performers.

A title victory might prove just out of his reach, but he can finish in the top three. Jay Rooney.

Badel to climb rankings

He’s coming off the lowest haul from his five full Hong Kong seasons but Alexis Badel can hit back with an improved campaign in 2025-26.

Badel slipped to 10th in the jockeys’ premiership last season with only 31 winners at 6 per cent, but the French jockey looks poised to bounce back to somewhere near the heights that saw him land 58 victories in 2020-21, 50 in 2021-22 and 43 in 2023-24.

Fresh from a fruitful off-season stint in Japan which netted 12 wins, including one at Listed level, from 69 rides and was described by Badel as “a great confidence booster”, the 35-year-old heads to Sha Tin on Sunday with six mounts.

He’ll be hoping history repeats aboard Chiu Chow Spirit in the Class Two Tai Mo Shan Handicap (1,400m) 12 months after he partnered the galloper to victory in the same race off a near-identical rating. Sam Agars.

Kingscote to ride 50 winners

It is no easy task to ride 20 winners in your first full season, let alone a half-century – but Richard Kingscote showed his aptitude for Hong Kong racing on a short-term licence last campaign.

He will be hungry to hit the ground running immediately and that bit of experience he gained last season – as well as connections in the scene – will be crucial to his success this time around. Owen Goulding.

G1 win a Lok

While most of the attention on filling the void in Hong Kong’s mile ranks is on My Wish, another exciting five-year-old looks more than capable of making the leap to Group One level this term.

Hong Lok Golf made a stunning start to his career last season with six wins and a hopelessly unlucky second from his seven starts.

Chris So Wai-yin’s exciting prospect hasn’t won by big margins, but he boasts plenty of ability and tactical versatility which can help his bid to land one of the city’s 1,600m majors – the Hong Kong Mile, Stewards’ Cup or Champions Mile. Jay Rooney.