Giavellotto won last year's G1 Hong Kong Vase under Oisin Murphy

LAST year’s LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (6.10am) hero Giavellotto is bidding to defend his crown in the £2.5 million contest at Sha Tin on Sunday, and will face a strong field of 10 rivals, including 2024 Group 1 King George & Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Goliath.

Oisin Murphy rode Giavellotto to victory 12 months ago but Hong Kong-based rider Andrea Atzeni will be in the saddle on Sunday, having partnered the Marco Botti-trained six-year-old to finish fourth in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on his latest start.

Atzeni told a packed media conference that Giavellotto’s turn of foot in defeating Dubai Honour in the 2024 Hong Kong Vase had shown the horse in a new light.

“In his early days, I remember hitting the front on him a

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