Andre Fabre still hopeful of Marquisat improvement in Hong Kong

Marquisat finished just a nose behind stablemate Junko, who won the Hong Kong Vase last year, in the Grand Prix de Chantilly back in June but has been disappointing since.

The four-year-old finished third to Goliath on heavy ground at ParisLongchamp in mid-October and was a distant fifth in the Group One Preis von Bayern in Germany.

Fabre said: “Obviously his rating doesn’t give him a leading chance and his preparation was not the ideal; the German race was not really what I was hoping for.

“The ground was too heavy. He enjoys soft ground but not that heavy; he’s not a strong horse, he has a light action.

“He looks well now and on his form with Junko he has a very good chance. On his rating he has the fifth-best chance.

“The Grand Prix de Chantilly form is cause for optimism but he will need to repeat that and he had an interruption afterwards.”

Fabre has won the Hong Kong Vase three times since its inception in 1994 and believes Marquisat can adjust to the challenge of Sha Tin.

He add: “We always learn by travelling and meeting other horses and, hopefully, getting a stronger pace. He’s a horse who is a very easy-going type so he should adapt.

“Over a mile and a half the draw (12 of 13) won’t matter, as long as there is some pace, which there should be.”