Flintshire ought to make the most of his best winning opportunity all year (Hong Kong Jockey Club)

Indeed, all three of Flintshire's career wins have come going right-handed -- a maiden and the Prix du Lys at Chantilly, and his signature score in the 2013 Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp. Although winless since, the Andre Fabre trainee has performed up to a high level every time he's encountered good or firmer going.

In his seasonal reappearance, Flintshire finished a fine second to a razor-sharp Cirrus des Aigles in the June 7 Coronation Cup. His subpar effort in the June 29 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud is forgettable on account of the rain-softened ground that tends to leave him spinning his wheels. Missing the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes because of a fever, he was not seen again until the September 14 Prix Foy. Flintshire turned in a useful prep for the Arc, rallying for second to the loose-on-the-lead Ruler of the World.

Although deferring to two-time queen Treve in the Arc itself, Flintshire beat all others in another admirable second, his strongest piece of form to date. That made him a logical threat in the November 1 Breeders' Cup Turf at Santa Anita, where he made a bold bid before being outkicked late by Main Sequence.

Snow Sky hopes to be the first three-year-old male to take the Vase (Hong Kong Jockey Club)

But his trainer, Sir Michael Stoute, is not one to tilt at windmills. Juddmonte's Racing Manager Teddy Grimthorpe revealed that Stoute has wanted to point Snow Sky for this race, which makes him a fascinating entry. He has displayed raw talent, along with a few idiosyncrasies. This experience abroad could help him along the learning curve and set him up for a lucrative 2015.

The well-bred Nayef colt has a high cruising speed that enables him to travel conspicuously well in his races. A commanding winner of the May 10 Lingfield Derby Trial, Snow Sky was ruled out of Epsom with a last-minute setback. He resurfaced in the June 20 King Edward VII at Royal Ascot, but raced too close to a hot pace and tired to fourth, the best finish by any of the early chasers. Ridden more patiently in the July 30 Gordon Stakes at Glorious Goodwood, he rolled to the lead before veering out as if still green, and scraped home by a neck. The margin could have been bigger if he'd been more professional.

Snow Sky lugged in a bit in deep stretch of the August 20 Great Voltigeur, but it didn't matter as he was no match for Luca Cumani's exciting Postponed. Still, Snow Sky was eight lengths clear of third in a fast time for the 1 1/2-mile trip at York.

Defending champion Dominant and 2012 winner Red Cadeaux (far left, red cap in fourth) are back again (Hong Kong Jockey Club)

The evergreen eight-year-old Red Cadeaux just finished runner-up in the November 4 Melbourne Cup for an incredible third time. Ed Dunlop's lovable globetrotter has yet to run a bad race at Sha Tin, a dead-heat third in the 2011 Vase preceding his victory, and he was an honorable fourth here last year after an unfavorably wide trip. Hong Kong's trackwork video reveals that Red Cadeaux remains fresh as ever, pulling his rider's arms out of their sockets with the eagerness of a youngster brimming with enthusiasm for the game. It almost makes me forget that he hasn't won since the 2012 Vase, and needs a longer trip these days.

Dominant seeks to become the third horse to repeat in the Vase, following Luso (1996-97) and Doctor Dino (2007-08). I wouldn't have given him a chance last year, for lucid reasons: the only Hong Kong runner to prevail in the Vase was the legendary Indigenous (1998); Dominant couldn't even win the big 1 1/2-mile test for the locals in May, the Champions & Chater Cup, and his prep runs were uninspiring; and most of all, the presence of The Fugue, who like Flintshire was exiting BC Turf heartbreak.

Empoli overcame traffic trouble to win his first Group 1 last out in his native Germany (Hong Kong Jockey Club)

The Peter Schiergen colt didn't run up to that level in England or France. Last time in the September 28 Preis von Europa at Cologne, Empoli was hemmed in full of run on the rail, extricated himself adroitly, and swooped for a Group 1 breakthrough. He's got to improve off the literal form. The good news is, being by Halling and out of an Acatenango mare, the four-year-old is probably still capable of more.

The Hong Kong horse I find most persuasive in the Vase is Willie Cazals, who comes from a tactically impossible place in the clouds but can hurl sub-22 final quarters. For the record, I'll mention that in his former Italian career, he beat Danedream when second in the 2011 Derby Italiano. Of course, that's before Danedream was Danedream.

Willie Cazals could give Tony Cruz, the HKIR's all-time winning trainer, his first score in the Vase (Hong Kong Jockey Club)

Although Japan's representatives must always be respected, Curren Mirotic is a lesser light in their firmament. Yet the early pace factor/stalker has been boxing on dourly over shorter, and his second to Gold Ship in the about 1 3/8-mile Takarazuka Kinen last out June 29 implies that he might be more suited to this distance.

Rounding out the international squad is Ireland's Parish Hall, whom I might more readily ignore if he weren't a Jim Bolger product. The son of Teofilo scored an improbable win in the 2011 Dewhurst, propelling himself into the classics picture, but then contracted a hind leg infection that cost him his entire 2012 season. Parish Hall has been a genuine servant since his comeback, even if he was a tad fortunate to come as close as a neck to Magician in the May 5 Mooresbridge and to well-regarded Pether's Moon in the October 4 Cumberland Lodge in his latest. He'll show up with his game face on, and it would be especially touching if he can run well, after Bolger's loss of another son of Teofilo, Trading Leather, in the Japan Cup.