Trainer Jimmy Ting believes a remedial course of barrier practice has star talent Little Paradise right on track for the HK$26 million 149th BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) \u2013 the city\u2019s most coveted crown \u2013 at Sha Tin on Sunday afternoon (22 March).<\/p>
One of 14 runners seeking once-in-a-lifetime glory in the final leg of the HK$52 million Four-Year-Old Classic Series, six-time winner Little Paradise \u2013 successful in the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) on 1 February \u2013 could manage only eighth in the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m) after a slow start.<\/p>
\u201cThe jockey (Vincent Ho) said he sat on the gates, and then they opened \u2013 that\u2019s why he was a bit slow, but we\u2019ve practised him once through the gates from the 1800 (metre) start \u2013 holding his tail, and it was much better,\u201d Ting said. \u201cWe\u2019ll go through the gates again on Thursday (19 March) when he does his last gallop.\u201d<\/p>
Little Paradise was a dominant victor of the Hong Kong Classic Mile by two lengths \u2013 stamping serious authority over the city\u2019s four-year-old bracket before Stormy Grove soared from near-last to victory in the Hong Kong Classic Cup on 1 March.<\/p>
Ting said: \u201cHe\u2019s in good form; he\u2019s improving, and he\u2019s better than last time. I hope he can run well in the Derby. I think I would ride him quietly, but it also depends on the draw he gets \u2013 so we\u2019ll see after it comes out (on Thursday).\u00a0<\/p>
\u201cHe was a bit disappointing last start, but he missed the start, and then when he went to the inside, he got bumped a few times. After the bumping, I think the horse was upset, and that\u2019s why he came back, but over the last 200 metres he ran home.\u201d<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column]
Little Paradise finishes eighth in the Hong Kong Classic Cup at Sha Tin.<\/p>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Owned by Ko Kam Piu \u2013 who raced 2012 Royal Ascot Group 1 winner Little Bridge \u2013 Little Paradise tops the BMW Hong Kong Derby selected runners, rated 103, ahead of Numbers (100), Stormy Grove (98), Sagacious Life (97), Invincible Ibis (94), Patch Of Cosmo (89), Beauty Bolt (88), Emblazon (88), Top Dragon (87), Regal Gem (85), Juneau Pride (81), Dazzling Fit (80), Seraph Gabriel (79) and Pope Cody (76).<\/p>
Victorious in the 2020 BMW Hong Kong Derby aboard former champion Golden Sixty, jockey Vincent Ho, who will captain The Hong Kong Jockey Club\u2019s Shergar Cup side on 8 August at Ascot, has 25 wins this season and pairs with Little Paradise on Sunday.<\/p>
Brenton Avdulla \u2013 winner of the 2025 Hong Kong Classic Cup with Rubylot \u2013 links up with dual winner Beauty Bolt for trainer Tony Cruz in the BMW Hong Kong Derby.<\/p>
Raced by the Kwok family, Beauty Bolt was third in the Hong Kong Classic Mile and seventh in the Hong Kong Classic Cup.<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”15541″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Avdulla said: \u201cI rode him (Beauty Bolt) first time out and he was a bit raw and ran well. He\u2019s won a couple since then, and I thought he was good in the Classic Mile. I thought he was just okay in the Hong Kong Classic Cup, because I thought James McDonald had him in the right spot and had the right set-up to run well.<\/p>
\u201cI think he\u2019s a nice ride in the Derby. He probably needs to draw well because he\u2019s been a bit unfortunate with a couple of the gates he\u2019s drawn lately. I think a barrier is going to be very important for him, where if he can draw low and put himself just behind the pace to midfield and relax, then it\u2019ll give him every opportunity to run the trip.\u201d<\/p>
Avdulla has tasted big-race success for Cruz, capturing the 2024 HK$13 million G1 Queen\u2019s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m) and 2024 G1 Al Quoz Sprint (1200m) aboard three-time Group 1 winner California Spangle.<\/p>
Cruz seeks a seventh BMW Hong Kong Derby after four wins as a jockey with Co-Tack (1983), Tea For Two II (1987), Clear City (1988) and Makarpura Star (1995) before prevailing twice as a trainer with Lucky Owners (2004) and Helene Mascot (2008).<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”15540″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Trainer Jimmy Ting believes a remedial course of barrier practice has star talent Little Paradise right on track for the HK$26 million 149th BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) \u2013 the city\u2019s most coveted crown \u2013 at Sha Tin on Sunday afternoon (22 March).One of 14 runners seeking once-in-a-lifetime glory in the… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":15542,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"2normal","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15538"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15538"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15538\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15596,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15538\/revisions\/15596"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}