Frankie Lor continued a meteoric rise when Salon S triumphed impressively to deliver the trainer’s 500th Hong Kong victory before Numbers emerged as a serious BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) contender at Sha Tin on Sunday (27 December) on a momentous afternoon for the quietly-spoken horseman.

Lor celebrated a memorable meeting with a double, firstly reaching the 500-win mark milestone with three-year-old Salon S’s triumph before Numbers (119lb) underlined his credentials for the HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby on 22 March with a gritty win against older horses in the Class 2 Long Ke Handicap (2000m).

Formerly known as King Of Thunder when trained by John O’Shea & Tom Charlton in Australia, the Tivaci gelding won two races pre-import and finished second in the G1 Queensland Derby (2400m).

Taken straight to the front today by Derek Leung, Numbers increased the tempo from the 800m before stoutly fending off Winning Wing (115lb) by a length, with Gentlemen Legacy (115lb) a further neck away in third place in 2m 0.94s.

Lor outlined Four-Year-Old Classic Series plans immediately after the race.

“I’ll see if the owner wants to go in all three Classic Series races or just the 1800m (Hong Kong Classic Cup) and 2000m (BMW Hong Kong Derby), because 1600m (Hong Kong Classic Mile) might be a bit short for him,” Lor said.

“He’s a big, strong horse with a big stride. The jockey said ‘2000m is still not enough, he can go 2200m or 2400m. In Australia he had 2400m form. He’s quite easy to train. Sometimes big horses need more work to train, but he’s quite easy.”

Leung said: “He’s a nice horse, even 2400m he can handle. He’s got a big stride, he can lead and when he has cover, it will be even better for him because he can chase. I think the horse can improve even more.”

A former apprentice jockey, Lor served as assistant trainer to John Size and John Moore before receiving a licence to train in his own right and has developed a penchant for quickly reaching training landmarks – including winning with his first runner, Yourthewonforme, at Sha Tin in September 3, 2017 and finishing second to Size in the trainers’ champion in his debut campaign with a record first-season tally of 65 wins.

Lor’s foundation season paved the way for a string of prodigious achievements, including landing a Group 1 double at the 2018 LONGINES Hong Kong International Races with Mr Stunning (LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint) and Glorious Forever (LONGINES Hong Kong Cup).

The theme continued with a stable clean sweep in the 2019 Four-Year-Old Classic Series with Furore (Hong Kong Classic Mile, 1600m & BMW Hong Kong Derby, 2000m) and Mission Tycoon (Hong Kong Classic Cup, 1800m) before Mr Stunning delivered more Group 1 success in the 2020 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m).

Lor claimed the Hong Kong trainers’ title in 2021/22 with 90 wins, reached the 400-win mark in only his seventh season in 2023/24 and today slotted his 500th victory from his 4,483rd starter at a strike rate of 11.1 percent.

“The first two years I got a licence, I had really good seasons, so I have very good memories in my mind,” said Lor, who rates Youretheoneforme’s win eight years ago as a career highlight along with the trainers’ championship.

“I’m lucky to get some good horses in my stable, so I need to thank the owners first and also for the (Hong Kong) Jockey Club to give me a chance and also for my stable team – they work really hard for me,” he said.

“When you become an apprentice jockey and later on when you are getting older, you need to think about finding another job to go ahead and then training was my dream also.”

By Zousain, Salon S (134lb) displayed plenty of ability with a comfortable win in the Class 4 Wong Chuk Wan Handicap (1400m), a race restricted to three-year-olds.

Manfred Man continued a stellar season when Aurio (133lb) trounced his opposition in the first section of the Class 4 Tai Long Tsui Handicap (1200m) to win by three lengths under James Orman before Foremost Teddy made it two wins in a row with success in the Class 5 Yung Shue O Handicap (1800m, dirt) for Karis Teetan and Danny Shum.

Chris So’s Mount Everest (133lb) finished powerfully under Keith Yeung to win the second section of the Class 4 Tai Long Tsui Handicap (1200m) before Luke Ferraris celebrated his 24th birthday with victory on David Eustace’s Happy Boss (127lb) in the Class 4 Tai Tan Handicap (1400m).

“It’s good to get one on the board for Dave, it looks like his stable has turned into form now,” Ferraris said. “He’s a nice horse, it was his second run and he’s a little bit green but got the job done in the end and when he gets out to a mile-plus, he will start to improve nicely.”

John Size and Andrea Atzeni combined with Sight Dreamer (118lb) to win the Class 4 Wong Yi Chau Handicap (1650m, dirt) as David Hall’s Magnifique (134lb) posted his fourth win from five starts in clocking 55.85s to win the Class 3 Sham Chung Handicap (134lb).

Mark Newnham teamed with Lyle Hewitson to land the Class 3 Tai Long Au Handicap (1650m, dirt) with New Forest (135lb) before Leung closed the meeting in style to take riding honours with a brace after saluting on Cody Mo’s Jumbo Treasure (127lb) in the Class 3 Shui Long Wo Handicap (1200m).

Hong Kong racing continues at Sha Tin on Thursday (1 January) with the New Year’s Day meeting, featuring the G3 Chinese Club Challenge Cup (1400m).