Neil Callan secured his first double this season with some help from trainer Paul O’Sullivan, as the pair combined for two wins together, wrapped with a smart victory from Lobo’s Legend in section two of the Class 3 Belcher Bay Handicap (1200m).

“It’s always nice to get a winner, never mind a double, but we’ll take as many as we can,” Callan said.

“I mentioned to Paul that when he got him, he had run well over here at Happy Valley. I knew he was versatile, he can handle it, he’s a small horse carrying top-weight and he knuckled down when he had to. It was a good win.”

The South African import was a G1 winner at his final start before arriving in Hong Kong, winning the SA Classic (1800m) at Turffontein Racecourse in Johannesburg.

“His first run for me was good, he just found the 1000 metres a little bit short – I was working on the theory that he probably just wants to run 1200 metres and that proved that today, even though he has won a Group 1 over 1800 metres,” O’Sullivan said.

“But he was aided by a good draw and a good ride – we got all of the favours today and we were lucky enough to win it.”

The South African-bred six-year-old could step out on the dirt at Sha Tin next start. His sire Trippi was a top-class dirt sprinter as a three-year-old, beating More Than Ready in the 2000 G1 Vosburgh Stakes (dirt, 1400m) at Belmont Park.

“I think he’s placed in Class 2 previously and he’s always trialled particularly well on the dirt,” O’Sullivan said. “He has a lot of American bloodlines in his pedigree, so if we get the option to run in a Class 2 on the dirt that’ll probably be our next move.”

Initially booked to ride California Levee in the first section of the Class 4 Sai Ying Pun Handicap (1200m), the scratching of the Irish-bred meant Callan was without a ride but the promotion of O’Sullivan’s Oriental Elite proved a fruitful one as the gelding went on to score by a half-length.