Karis Teetan rode the improving Fifty Fifty (113lb) to victory in the feature of the day at Sha Tin as the. Mauritian got the better of 1.8 favourite in a thrilling tussle between two of Hong Kong’s rising stars that lifted the 85,000-strong holiday crowd on a record turnover day for a 1st January meet. 

The G1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m) at the end of the month now beckons for the Peter Ho-trained victor.

“If he comes out of this race in good form we will definitely consider the Stewards’ Cup. I can’t find another mile race for him, so this is my plan,” Ho said.

“He’s a tough horse, when Beat The Clock came to him, he fought again. He has a big heart and he’ll be a better miler.”

Fifty Fifty went into the traditional New Year’s feature with a rising profile after three wins from only five Hong Kong starts. But although the grey took his place in the 12-runner field off a featherweight 113lb, the 98-rated five-year-old did so from 8lb out of the handicap.

“I was very confident about this race, even though he was running from out of the handicap,” Ho said. “The horse keeps on improving and his condition is even better than last time. He won earlier when he was only 70 percent or 80 percent fit.”

Fifty Fifty slotted into an ideal berth, stalking the front pair of Peniaphobia (128lb) and Dashing Fellow (121lb) in a one-off position. When Teetan shifted out on the final turn, Fifty Fifty clicked up his pace and cruised to lead at the 350m mark. Shaken up for the win, the New Zealand-bred accelerated towards the wire with Beat The Clock in close pursuit.

Fifty Fifty could head to the Stewards’ Cup after his defeat of top-class rivals.

“He’s the type of horse that you can switch off and go, and nothing bothered him today – when I pressed him he really responded,” Teetan said of the 4/1 chance.

When Beat The Clock drew alongside Fifty Fifty with 200m to race in the session’s penultimate contest, it appeared for a moment that Moreira might add a sixth triumph to his day’s work. But the winner was always in command; bossing his opponent; lugging across to dominate for a half-length score in a time of 1m 21.10s, the fastest at the course and distance this term.

“He saw Joao’s horse come and he wanted to run onto him a little bit. I just think he’s still learning about things, but every time he races he gets better. Today was a really tough task and I think we’ve all learnt something.

“He was taking on big horses, so there was a concern about whether he would be up to it, but he’s a good horse and you don’t keep good horses in the stable. He’ll be better again when he goes back to the mile.”