Helios Express’ bid to match the towering feats of Rapper Dragon and Golden Sixty with a clean sweep of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series with HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) victory at Sha Tin on Sunday (24 March) has been complicated by a challenging barrier draw.
The winner of the Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) and the Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m), Helios Express will attempt to become only the third horse after Rapper Dragon (2017) and Golden Sixty (2020) to win all three legs of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series, but he has drawn barrier 13 in the BMW Hong Kong Derby, while Galaxy Patch – another of the top contenders – will start from the extreme outside in barrier 14.
Bidding for a fourth BMW Hong Kong Derby, 12-time champion John Size was typically philosophical after Helios Express was cast into the second-widest alley under Hugh Bowman, while stablemate Ensued will jump from gate 12 for Ryan Moore.