Frankie Lor is daring to dream of capturing a first BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) victory this season and who could blame him? After all, the second-season handler has the two highest-rated gallopers in Sunday’s (17 February) Hong Kong Classic Cup.

The 1800m feature is the main lead-up to the Derby, the third and final leg of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series. Lor won the first leg last month, the Hong Kong Classic Mile, with Furore: his Dark Dream was a luckless fourth.

“When I got these two horses I thought I had a good chance to get them both to the Derby and now I’m trying to make my dream come true, to see if we can win the Derby!” Lor said at Sha Tin this morning (Friday, 15 February).

Furore burst away from his Classic Mile rivals to post an impressive two and a half-length victory under Hugh Bowman. He did so as the race’s 5.4 third pick in the market: stablemate Dark Dream was the 2.8 favourite.

Both geldings arrived in Hong Kong with high-class form on their résumés: Furore was third in the G1 Rosehill Guineas (2000m); Dark Dream won the G1 Queensland Derby (2200m). The latter emerged from the four-year-old pack as the buzz horse after an impressive 2000m Class 2 win at Sha Tin in December.

“I’ve always thought Dark Dream would be a little bit better than Furore,” Lor admitted.

The Classic Mile result, though, has upped Furore’s stock: “After last time, it’s hard to say which horse is the best for this race,” the trainer said.

A wide draw in gate 12 hindered Dark Dream last time and his cause was further impeded by a hefty bump from a rival at a crucial juncture. This time, Furore must break from wide with Dark Dream seemingly berthed ideally.

“Furore is easy to ride but draw 12 is not easy – if the pace is good he should be ok but I need to talk to Hugh to see what we’ll do if there’s no pace. Dark Dream has an easier task from gate five,” Lor said.

And the step up to 1800m can only be a positive for his Australian imports.

“The distance should be fine for both horses,” he continued. “Last time, at 1600, Dark Dream had bad luck all the way and still came strong, so the 1800 should be fine. They have both gone well since their last run and both are finding improvement.”

Bowman will jet into town again to partner Furore but Zac Purton replaces Silvestre de Sousa on Dark Dream.

“The owner wanted a change of luck. Zac has ridden the horse and he’s trialled him so he knows the horse,” Lor explained.

The trainer has a third string to his bow, too. Mission Tycoon was a 204/1 chance for Classic Mile glory but ran a career peak race to finish second to his stablemate.

“Mission Tycoon has a bad draw (10) so it’s hard to say – the distance may be a little bit too far for hm. If he gets cover, that will help and his form is good so sometimes things can happen,” the handler said.

Cruz stars

Tony Cruz has five Derby wins on his record, two as a trainer (2004 Lucky Owners, 2008 Helene Mascot) and three as a jockey (1987 Tea For Two II, 1988 Clear City, 1995 Makarpura Star). The handler is hoping to end an 11-year Derby lean spell this term and has Ka Ying Star and Helene Leadingstar as his trailblazers going into the Classic Cup.

Ka Ying Star made all to win on debut and ran with merit when fading to third in the Classic Mile last time.

“He’s got ability, we can see that, but he’s got a lot of improvement to come,” Cruz said. “He’s been improving slowly and while I think he’s ready to run well in this race, he’s still not in his best form. He’s still getting used to the place, acclimatising, so the best is still to come.

“He has such good natural speed that he’ll probably lead the race again,” he added.

Vincent Ho has opted to stick with the exciting British import rather than continue a three-win partnership with Sunday’s rival, the David Hall-trained Ho Ho Khan. The jockey said he will speak to Cruz about how he will ride the race but feels the horse could have another string to his tactical bow if needed.

“He’s definitely a nice horse,” Ho said. “He’s still very green so it would be ideal if he could follow something because in the UK he won three times; once he led and two times he came from midfield with a good turn-of-foot, so he doesn’t really need to lead. It will be interesting to see how he might perform if he gets some cover.”

Cruz’s Helene Leadingstar, meanwhile, won the G1 South Australian Derby (2500m) last year and has improved for each of his three starts in Hong Kong.

“He’s one-paced, he won over 2500 metres in Australia so this race could still be on the short side because he’s a real stayer, a mile and a half type of horse. The Derby should be perfect for him,” Cruz said.

The field of potential future stars also features the John Size-trained Red Warrior and Mr So And So; the John Moore-rained Easy Go Easy Win, Solar Parch and Sunny Speed; South American G1 winner Harmony Victory, high-profile British import Gold Chest and Classic Mile sixth Green Luck.