Road to the Derby: Little Paradise takes giant step forward in Four-Year-Old Classic Series

In the seventh instalment of The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Road to the Derby series, we dial in on what history suggests might happen from here after Little Paradise’s stunning HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) success at Sha Tin on Sunday (1 February).

With less than four weeks until the second leg of the prestigious 2025/26 Four-Year-Old Classic Series – the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m) on 1 March – and with the 149th HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) on 22 March on the horizon, Little Paradise is shaping as a genuine rising star and his weekend success saw him become the first of this season’s four-year-old crop to reach a triple-figure rating.

After travelling one off the rail behind midfield in a race with plenty of early speed – leader Winfield covered the first 800m 1.48 seconds inside standard – Little Paradise found himself in heavy traffic after turning for home but found space in the final 250m and surged to a comprehensive two-length success over Infinite Resolve.

While Ho and trainer Jimmy Ting were soaking up their second successes in the coveted contest, some of the attention inevitably turned to the remaining two legs of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series and the likelihood of the now 103-rated Little Paradise also thriving over further.

Both trainer and jockey are confident he will and history is on Little Paradise’s side, with seven of the past 10 Hong Kong Classic Mile winners parlaying glory in that contest into further Classic Series success.

Sun Jewellery and Helios Express did the Hong Kong Classic Mile-Hong Kong Classic Cup double, Furore, Romantic Warrior and Voyage Bubble achieved the Hong Kong Classic Mile-Hong Kong Derby double and Rapper Dragon and Golden Sixty surged to Classic Series clean sweeps.

Last year, My Wish won the Hong Kong Classic Mile before finishing second in both the Hong Kong Classic Cup and Hong Kong Derby, with the statistics giving connections every reason to be confident Little Paradise will continue to make his presence felt.

There will likely be other gallopers who enjoy the longer distances more than Little Paradise, and Ting’s charge did enjoy the benefit of gate six on Sunday while a string of his main rivals, such as Invincible Ibis (11), Beauty Bolt (12) and Sagacious Life (13), managed top-six finishes from wide gates, however the nature and ease of his Hong Kong Classic Mile success suggests his rivals will need to find significant improvement.

There will, of course, be a handful of gallopers who enter the Four-Year-Old Classic Series in the later legs, with only six of last year’s Hong Kong Classic Mile runners making it to the Hong Kong Derby.

Interestingly, only one of the top four in last year’s Hong Kong Classic Mile – winner My Wish – made it to the Hong Kong Derby, while three of the bottom four did.

A string of four-year-olds ran well on Sunday’s undercard, with Super Express, Lucky Sam Gor and Blazing Wukong saluting and Seraph Gabriel and Natural Numbers running well without winning.

However, all five gallopers look like they will need to further boost their ratings to come into Hong Kong Classic Cup contention.

Looking ahead, some of the interesting four-year-olds running this week include Regal Gem and All Out For Six at Happy Valley on Wednesday night and Numbers, Pope Cody, Dazzling Fit, Aerodynamics and Juneau Pride at Sha Tin this Sunday.