Mercurial talents Super Sunny Sing and Beauty Eternal crown an intriguing band of 14 selected runners for the HK$24 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) at Sha Tin on Sunday, 19 March.
Dominant winner of the HK$12 million Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m) last month, Super Sunny Sing will bid for a fifth successive victory for Chris So when he attempts to add his name to the honour roll of Hong Kong’s most coveted race.
In a field headed by Frankie Lor’s 99-rater Keefy, Beauty Eternal (94) will bid to give 11-time Hong Kong Champion Trainer John Size his fourth BMW Hong Kong Derby success after Fay Fay (2012), Luger (2015) and Ping Hai Star (2018).
Touted as a rising star of Hong Kong’s equine ranks, Beauty Eternal has posted four wins from five starts in his debut season and caught the eye with exceptional acceleration during an arrogant Class 2 victory over 1600m last month.
Size’s contingent is bolstered by the presence of Tuchel, who was second to Voyage Bubble in the HK$12 million Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) in January, and Sweet Encounter, who won four of his first five starts in Hong Kong.
First contested in 1873, the BMW Hong Kong Derby is restricted to four-year-old runners over 2000 metres. Past winners of the sought-after crown include global superstars River Verdon (1991), Oriental Express (1997), Vengeance Of Rain (2005), Viva Pataca (2006), Ambitious Dragon (2011), Designs On Rome (2014), Werther (2016), Rapper Dragon (2017) and Golden Sixty (2020), while last year’s edition was won by Romantic Warrior for Karis Teetan and Danny Shum.