Dennis Yip will attempt to win a consecutive HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (23 March) when he saddles Noisy Boy in the third and the final leg of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series.

The 2024 BMW Hong Kong Derby-winning trainer with Massive Sovereign, Yip is holding faith in Noisy Boy’s ability and stamina to bounce back after the Real Steel gelding’s slightly disappointing 13th behind Rubylot in the Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m), the second leg of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series.

Noisy Boy is the only course and distance winner among the 2025 Derby field, beating Winning Dragon over 2000m two starts back. Winning Dragon went on the finish fourth in the G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) to frank the form.

Yip explained Noisy Boy’s last start defeat: “He was the victim of the race circumstance. My instruction was to ask the jockey to settle the horse in third or fourth position, or to take a soft lead if the pace was too slow.

“However, (the) jockey reported that after he jumped out quick, he couldn’t cut across and had to make some use of the horses in the early stages and the horse was on the bridle to take the lead. His first three sectionals (13.82s, 21.69s and 23.85s) were a bit too quick for him.”

“Hopefully with some on-pace runners like Beauty Alliance in the field, he can follow the leaders comfortably this time and as long as he can travel comfortably in the early stages, he should be very competitive as he is a very fit horse and is the only one who had the winning record over the Hong Kong Derby distance,” Yip added.

Having finished second in the G2 Tulloch Stakes (2000m) and eighth in the G1 Australian Derby (2400m) in Australia pre-import, Noisy Boy won twice in Hong Kong from just five starts, breaking his local maiden over 2200m at Happy Valley before winning at the Derby trip in January. He will be ridden by Christophe Soumillon this Sunday.

Yip said: “Christophe has plenty of experiences in riding big races and he is also the one who will give you a detailed post-race report. I don’t have too much concern on the draw but of course anything from draw one to six will be ideal.”

Noisy Boy clocked 52.4s (28.9s and 23.5s) over 800m on turf today (Monday, 17 March) and Yip was pleased with the horse’s progress ahead of BMW Hong Kong Derby Day.

Yip also reckoned My Wish will be the major rival to Noisy Boy in the Derby. “Last time in the Hong Kong Classic Cup, My Wish followed us in face pace throughout the race and still ran on well in the straight. As such, he will be one of the major contenders in this year’s Derby,” he said.