Jamie Richards continued his barnstorming start to the season thanks to the victory of Jubilant Winner at Sha Tin on Sunday.

Richards moved to five winners from the first three meetings when Jubilant Winner proved far too strong in the first section of the Class Four Lok Wah Handicap (1,200m), rattling home from midfield to win by two and a half lengths.

“I don’t really know what it is, but we’ve had some very good rides and the horses have paraded well and looked well. And when they look well and trial well, I think they run well,” said Richards of his start to the season.

“So we’ll just keep it simple and hopefully we can keep going.”

Jubilant Winner broke his maiden at start 11 and Richards plans to stick to a winning formula with the five-year-old.

“I think when a horse wins at a distance, it’s a little bit silly to perhaps step them up too quick. So I think definitely one more 1,200m [run] and then we’ll make a bit of a plan from there,” said Richards, who could only manage 22 victories during a torrid 2024-25 campaign.

“He’s a horse that last season needed his races spaced a little bit, but hopefully he can hold more condition this year and if he does that, hopefully he can work his way up the ratings a bit.

“I think the horses that have been winning have run well last season. Jubilant [Winner] has just needed some time and the other ones have been going well. I think the horses are racing pretty consistently.”

Hayes powers on

David Hayes is confident Metro Power has got plenty of rating points in hand after the four-year-old broke his Hong Kong maiden by winning the Class Three Mei Tung Handicap (1,000m) in 55.33 seconds.

Sent off at $16.25 as punters honed in on $1.5 favourite Lightness Of Music, Metro Power zipped straight to the front under Lyle Hewitson and didn’t look back, seeing off runner-up Fast Responder by two and three-quarter lengths.

Hayes admitted the nature of the victory came as a surprise, but he pointed to Metro Power’s recent trial second – in which he beat Lightness Of Music home by a length – as proof the galloper was ready to produce a strong showing.

“He actually beat the favourite in a barrier trial, and if you look at the barrier trial, I think he was more impressive than the favourite,” said Hayes.

“He was better than him in the race today, too. The time he ran suggests he’s going to go up in class.

“I thought he could run in the first three. The way he’s been working, I thought he could go close. But I respected probably the favourite too much and he killed the favourite.”

Metro Power will now find himself on a rating around 70 and Hayes could target the Class Three down the straight on October 4.

“I think just at the moment we’ll keep him here because that was a very easy win in the end. That was good,” he said.

Hayes watched on from afar as his sons Ben, Will and JD snared yet another Group One with Mr Brightside in Saturday’s Makybe Diva Stakes and he’ll soon be competing for Australian riches of his own with Ka Ying Rising.

Halfway through his Hong Kong quarantine stint after winning the Class One HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup (1,200m) on September 7, Hayes confirmed Ka Ying Rising continues to do well ahead of his tilt at The Everest (1,200m) in Sydney on October 18.

“He’s doing a little bit of fast work Tuesday, he did some on Saturday and he seemed the same as he was before the race, so he’s coping with quarantine very well,” said Hayes, who has now had a winner at each of the season’s first three meetings.

The win of Metro Power was a welcome one for Hewitson, who tasted his first success since suffering wrist and ankle fractures in a race fall in June.

Shum snares dirt double

Trainer Danny Shum Chap-shing made the most of the return of dirt racing on Sunday, winning the season’s first contest on the surface with Blazing Wind before sweeping the afternoon’s all-weather contests by saluting with Packing Bole.

Like his handler, Blazing Wind looks to like the dirt, with the five-year-old prevailing at the first time of asking on the surface after one victory from 16 turf starts.

Worked into the lead by Zac Purton in the Class Four Hing Wah Handicap (1,200m), Blazing Wind opened up a big lead in the home straight but he had to dig deep to hold off Daily Trophy late, with the final margin just a head.