Patch Of Stars continued his quick march through the grades with a game performance to deny Raging Blizzard and claim the Group Three Sha Tin Vase (1,200m) at Sha Tin on Sunday.
It was a fourth win of the season for the All Too Hard galloper, who began his remarkable sequence 13 months ago when securing a Class Four contest off a rating of just 50.
Since that success, he had rattled off another five wins and climbed 51 rating points heading into Sunday and this was undoubtedly his biggest step forward yet with a clinical performance to deny a trio of rivals, who have been tangling with Ka Ying Rising in recent starts.
Confidence was high in the Manfred Man Ka-leung-trained four-year-old, who was backed from $5 into $2.85 and his legion of supporters never had much worry.
Karis Teetan managed to get his mount beautifully settled on the rails in fifth, stalking an even pace set by Stellar Express. As the race began in earnest in the straight, Teetan found himself bottled up with nowhere to go, with what looked to be plenty of horse underneath him.
