Richard Hoiles’ top tips for Tuesday: Benefit from Charity

So it is Japan rather than Europe that will be the beneficiary of Magic Man Joao Moreira’s Hong Kong disappearing act.

After dominating for the past two seasons this year sees him embroiled in a battle for the Hong Kong title with Zac Purton, something that seemed inconceivable 12 months ago.

Make no mistake though, this will not have been a spur of the moment decision. When Moreira finally arrived in Hong Kong it was only after lengthy courtship and overtures by the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Dominant in Singapore, the Jockey Club were reported to be interested a full two seasons before he arrived but Moreira is a smart operator well aware of the calibre of rides usually afforded to newly arrived Club jockeys.

So instead he played the waiting game, making sure his name was touted by the Club to many trainers who would hardly in the past have been likely candidates to offer the calibre of rides Moreira was able to command in his early weeks.

Granted he still had to get them to win, but the momentum gathered from those early opportunities proved the foundation for his astonishingly rapid rise to dominance.

It is therefore highly likely than similar groundwork has been underway once Japan announced the first full time overseas riders in Mirco Demuro and Christophe Lemaire a couple of years ago.

Both had to pass a written test on the rules of Japanese racing along with an oral test conducted in Japanese which suggests any application will have been given great thought.

It is likely Moreira has been courted from as long ago as his success in his first World Jockey Series Challenge in 2015, with the Japan Racing Association well aware of the extra turnover such a high profile addition will generate and therefore highly likely to be able to be able to underwrite the deal providing Moreira with a valuable safety net.

It will not be easy, especially with Lemaire’s amazing dominance but with the links gained with his association with leading trainer Noriyuki Mori, rest assured the Magic Man’s latest chapter will have been planned in his usual meticulous manner.

With the Royal Ascot mix of majesty and mayhem just a week away a lower key set of cards to ponder today starting with:

Placed on both starts for Ken Slack since leaving Patrick Chamings the application of blinkers can finally see Ravenswood off the mark. The two previous runs have seen him meet trouble on one occasion and be caught wide on the other and despite still being a maiden he is worth another chance.

After a prolonged quiet patch Denis Coakley’s horses are in fine form and Sweet Charity, who broke the 35-long losing sequence for the yard when scoring at Leicester, can follow up here. That win showed she started handicaps off a fair mark with the prospect of more to come.

The return to 1m 4f looks key here after narrowly failing at Yarmouth over 1m 2f last time. With many King horses purchased with a view to becoming hurdlers in time they often stay well on the level and Outofthequestion can provide the stable with another Flat success.

The stable change to Ben Pauling looks a potentially good angle here. A similar stable move saw Oskar Denarius notch up a sequence, having been beaten on unsuitable ground on his first start for the stable, and Shanroe Tic Tec has been handed a workable opening mark.

Richard's Tuesday tips: