‘Hope is a dangerous thing.’

Those five simple words, made famous by Hollywood star Morgan Freeman in his role as world-weary prisoner Ellis Boyd Redding in The Shawshank Redemption, will resonate across Hong Kong as a long and wearying fight against Covid-19 reaches another crucial phase.

The collective hopes of over seven million citizens have ebbed and flowed like the Pearl Delta as wave upon wave of infection has put normal life on hold for the better part of three years.

And yet, little by hopeful little, a sense that one of the world’s most vibrant cities is starting to shake off the shackles of a historic battle is starting to grow.

It’s evident in the easing of quarantine rules for international travellers and the return of the Rugby Sevens; it’s evident in the imminent return of walk-up crowds at the races and the re-opening of Happy Valley’s famous Beer Garden; and it will be there in abundance when Sha Tin welcomes its biggest crowd in three years for the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races on 11 December.

Those three years have placed a heavy burden on the thousands of people connected with Hong Kong racing, especially those charged with keeping the show on the road, and certain memories won’t fade easily.

From the sight of Vincent Ho celebrating Golden Sixty’s dramatic 2020 Derby win in the early weeks of restrictions to the eerie sound of whips cracking and riders shouting during dramatic finishes amid silent skyscrapers with only essential personnel present, this has been one of the most challenging phases in Hong Kong racing history.

Zac Purton’s positive recent Covid case provides a strong reminder that complacency is never an option but Hong Kong has kept racing throughout the pandemic with public health atop its agenda and, as the city continues to relax pandemic measures, the racing public’s attention is turning to four key questions for this year’s HKIR.

1: Can Wellington see off Sky Field and the Japanese?

We will never know whether Richard Gibson’s powerful gelding would have beaten Sky Field in last year’s LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint had he not been badly hampered entering the home straight. But Wellington has established himself as the best of the best in Hong Kong’s fabled sprint division since that mishap and looked stronger than ever when giving weight and a decisive beating to a high-class field on his reappearance in the G2 Premier Bowl Handicap. This Sunday’s BOCHK Private Banking Jockey Club Sprint will reveal more about the reigning Champion Sprinter but, at this stage, he sets the bar high for any aspiring challenger.

2: Is the clock ticking for Golden Sixty?

It’s often said that even great champions become vulnerable once they turn seven. That was true of Beauty Generation, who came up short when bidding for a third Hong Kong Mile in 2019, but Good Ba Ba completed the historic treble aged seven in 2009 and Vincent says his Golden boy feels as good as ever ahead of his treble bid. But there’s a new kid on the block this year. California Spangle couldn’t respond once Golden Sixty launched in the Champions Mile last April but he’s recorded two deeply impressive wins this season and receives 5lb for a Jockey Club Mile rematch this weekend. And so, take your pick between the superstar champ and the dangerous young challenger. Ratings suggest it should be close – and that would set things up perfectly for a LONGINES Hong Kong Mile showdown.

3: Is the Warrior ready for battle again?

Turn the clock back to this time last year and Romantic Warrior had just made a winning Happy Valley debut from a rating of just 52. Twelve months on, Danny Shum’s gelding is Hong Kong’s Champion Middle Distance Horse after joining the exceptional Vengeance of Rain, Ambitious Dragon, Designs On Rome and Werther as winners of the Hong Kong Derby and QEII Cup in the same season. Shum concedes that the lack of a run this autumn means his stable star faces “a big challenge” under his G1 penalty in Sunday’s Jockey Club Cup. But the Warrior has looked razor sharp in winning two trials and a bold effort under James McDonald would set him up nicely for a clash with stars from Japan and Europe in the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup next month.

4: And can Glory return to make Vase history?

Luso, Doctor Dino and Highland Reel all won Hong Kong’s premier 2400m contest twice but the Japanese globetrotter Glory Vase has the chance to make history as the first horse ever to land the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase for a third time this year. History suggests that Tomohito Ozeki’s horse blossoms in December at Sha Tin but only one seven-year-old has landed the Vase since 1994. Japanese raider Stay Gold was that seven-year-old but Glory Vase has been seen only twice since his second Vase win last December and will need to peak again given the likely presence of several high-class rivals including Hong Kong’s Champion Stayer Russian Emperor.

The answers to this year’s HKIR puzzles will be provided in four G1 contests worth a record HK$110m on 11 December and, with a stellar cast of international riders signed up for the LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship at Happy Valley four days earlier, the sense that Hong Kong racing is ready to renew itself is tantalising.

The last three years have taught the entire world that hope can be a dangerous thing but, once finally freed from captivity, Freeman’s Shawshank character concluded that: “Hope is a good thing - maybe the best of things.”

Amen to that. Hopes are high that the last great global race meeting of the year will provide another sign that Hong Kong is bouncing back. And, with just a couple of weeks to go, the stars are finally aligning in more ways than one.