David Eustace is hoping Colourful King can get his revenge on old rival Youthful Spirits when the pair lock horns once again in the Class Two Guangzhou Handicap (1,200m) at Happy Valley’s only day meeting of the season on Sunday.

A two-time 1,000m winner at Happy Valley last season, Eustace’s four-year-old ran a big race on reappearance when sprinting home from the rear and finding only Youthful Spirits – who went from pillar to post – too strong.

That race was run over the 1,000m trip and after a near miss over the Valley 1,200m last season, Eustace is hoping the extra furlong will help his import run down Youthful Spirits for a second time.

“He ran great from the back and the winner put in an excellent performance. I couldn’t have been happier with him,” said Eustace. “I think the step up in trip will suit us potentially a bit more than him.

“There will be others in the race, of course, but at least we know with him that there will be a strong tempo, which I think will help Colourful King.

“His two wins have come over the Valley at 1,000m and obviously that was the logical race to kick off looking at the facts and figures – he’s not a winner over 1,200m whether in Australia or here, so that’s a question he needs to answer.

“If he’s to be able to continue to progress, which I hope he does, he’s going to have to perform at Sha Tin too.”

Colourful King will back up only 11 days after his last run and although a bit of extra time would have been ideal, it is certainly not a negative for Eustace.

“I would have loved a bit more time, but we’re forced really to run with the programme,” said Eustace. “Having said that, he’s pulled up great and we wouldn’t be running him if we weren’t happy with him.

“He doesn’t need to do much in between. He had a nice blow when he ran and was strong through the line.”

Eustace has several strong chances on the card at Happy Valley, with Keen Molly another stand-out in the Class Three Zhuhai Handicap (1,650m).

Keen Molly built on a promising return when second over the course and distance last month, with that being just his third local start after a pair of wins in Australia pre-import.

He gets the services of Zac Purton and Eustace is hoping for a big run, in spite of the fact he rises 3lb on his last start to carry 126lb.

“Keen Molly is racing very well and ran great the other day from a slightly awkward barrier,” Eustace said.

“He’s got to carry a bit of weight because there aren’t highly rated horses in the field, but he’s in good form.”

Eustace also runs Sports Legend in the Class Three Zhaoqing Handicap (1,200m), with the handler hoping the addition of a visor will help the former Australian galloper strike top form.

“Sports Legend will improve with a run under his belt and we’ve put some headgear back on him and he should run well,” Eustace said of the Deep Field gelding, who ran seventh to Kyrus Dragon at the Valley last month.