For a horse with two wins and a placing from three starts on the Sha Tin all-weather, it seems odd to report Rumba King doesn't fancy the kick-back too much but that is just what Zac Purton related. The Me Tsui Yu-sak-trained four-year-old won over 1,200m dirt surface last season and was third in October when he returned, but was caught wide both times and had never had a face full of dirt until yesterday's sprint. 'When the speed was fast early and I let the leaders go and dropped in behind them, he got the kick-back in his face and bounded in the air,' Purton said. 'It took a little while to get him relaxed and back in his gait again but, once he did, he was never going to lose.'