Eustace ticks off an early-career target as he sends two to the BMW Hong Kong Derby

By Paul Ryding

Second-year British handler David Eustace approaches the 149th HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) on Sunday (22 March) at Sha Tin with dual representation, but says positioning himself for an early-career crack at Hong Kong’s most prestigious race was always his plan.

This season’s running of the showpiece contest is expected to be one of the most open in years, a view underlined by the fact that his two runners – Dazzling Fit and Seraph Gabriel – are each viewed as solid place chances despite the former never having raced over the Derby distance, and Seraph Gabriel recently finishing 12th in his first Hong Kong run at 2000m.

Eustace arrived in Hong Kong ahead of the 2024/25 season with considerable interest, having enjoyed a highly successful partnership in Australia with leading trainer Ciaron Maher. He was named co-champion trainer in 2022/23 and enjoyed many Group 1 successes with Maher, notably in the Melbourne Cup (3200m) and the W.S. Cox Plate (2040m).

Upon going it alone in Hong Kong, China, Eustace admitted that he needed to be patient after leaving a jurisdiction where he had been a leading light, to switch to a new country with a different racing culture, where he was building his operation from the ground up.

He felt that success in the Four-Year-Old Classic Series could feasibly come before Group 1 success.

“The Four-Year-Old (Classic) series, for new trainers, is the bigger races during the season that you can hope to be a part of, provided you find the right horses,” the 34-year-old said. “It was undoubtedly a target during the first season, and looking for the right horses for the following year. So, it’s great to get them there in good form.”

Eustace’s plan came together when Dazzling Fit ran an impressive fifth at odds of 51/1 in the second leg of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series, the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m) under Luke Ferraris, who had previously ridden the son of Ribchester to two of his three career victories (from 11 runs).

Seraph Gabriel’s route to the BMW Hong Kong Derby has been slightly less direct, with only the selection panel’s decision ensuring he goes to post on Sunday.

And though, on paper, Eustace’s charges appear to be part of the Derby’s supporting cast, among the lowest-rated runners in the field at 80 and 79, respectively, their chances are more fancied than that implies.

Dazzling Fit’s brave Hong Kong Classic Cup run has only boosted his pre-race support, while the eight-time Hong Kong champion jockey Zac Purton will take the ride on Seraph Gabriel, who was a narrow runner-up in a 1993m race at Royal Ascot pre-import.

“I wouldn’t say everything’s gone right with each horse this season,” Eustace admitted, “but enough has for them to get there. So, they genuinely go there in as good a form as they can be in, and I just hope we get a nice draw.”

A favourable outcome in Thursday’s (19 March) barrier draw could provide a further boost for the pair’s Derby chances, but for Eustace, Sunday will be his first taste of the top level in Hong Kong, and it is the payoff for a plan laid from day one.

“I think they’ll both be little each-way chances in what I think is a really wide open race,” Eustace added. “For us as a stable, it’s really exciting.”