Road to the Derby: Dazzling Fit ready for further success after an encouraging run in Hong Kong Classic Cup

In the 11th instalment of The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Road to the Derby series, we take a look at the “upward trajectory” of Dazzling Fit (NZ) (Ribchester) after his fifth in Sunday’s (1 March) HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m).

While Frankie Lor’s Stormy Grove (Toronado) stole the show with a scorching success in the second leg of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series at Sha Tin, Dazzling Fit produced the sort of run that has trainer David Eustace hoping his charge will be peaking just in time for the 149th HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) on 22 March.

After missing out on a run in the Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) on 1 February, Dazzling Fit entered the Four-Year-Old Classic Series for the middle leg and announced himself as a genuine Hong Kong Derby hope with a gallant fifth at 51/1 odds, three lengths adrift of Stormy Grove.

Prominent early before travelling three wide forward of midfield in a race where they rattled along from the 1600m to the 800m, Dazzling Fit stuck on better than all but 3.8 chance Numbers (NZ) (Tivaci).
“I felt like there was a lot of merit in the run and it probably showed that he’s not too far off them and still improving,” Eustace said.

“It was a solid enough tempo, he was in a rhythm but wide throughout but still stuck on well. I thought it was just a good run and the 2000m should be no problem.”

Jockey Luke Ferraris echoed Eustace’s thoughts.

“I thought it was a really good run. He didn’t have enough natural speed to get there but I thought we were going a bit quick early so I let my guy get into a rhythm and he’s finished off well,” said Ferraris.

A son of Ribchester out of Charge Forward mare Sapphire Lass, Dazzling Fit was bought for NZ$115,000 (approx. HK$538,000) at Karaka in 2023 by Paul Chow and Alex Oliveira’s Tartan Meadow Bloodstock before making his way to owners David and Liann Ho.

The gelding’s Hong Kong Classic Cup effort earned him four ratings points, and he sits on a mark of 80 after three wins and three placings from 11 starts.

“I think he has earned his place in the Derby,” Eustace said. “I think he will get the trip and he has been trained for this race the whole way through, so I think he will be pretty spot on for the day and still on that upward trajectory.”

Dazzling Fit is one of three Eustace-trained gallopers with entries for the BMW Hong Kong Derby, with the trainer confirming Glittering Legend (Too Darn Hot) is unlikely to warrant a spot in the race while Seraph Gabriel remains a chance despite a last-start 12th.

“Glittering Legend runs this weekend in the Class 3 mile but he will need to dramatically improve. He is still working things out a bit,” he said.

“With Seraph Gabriel, we took the decision to train him for the race and hope he gets in. There’s no guarantee but (owner) Marc (Chan), to his credit, didn’t want to rush the horse and I didn’t want to squeeze another run into him. I thought that would probably just flatten him even if it did get him into the Derby.

“But his last run was poor, I was expecting a lot more but he didn’t give a yelp. I’m hoping he was flat off the back of a solid run over a mile, so I’ll trial him next week and hopefully we can get him back on track.”

Other four-year-olds with BMW Hong Kong Derby entries who are running this week include Fortune Boy (NZ) (Contributer) in the Class 2 1800m, Natural Numbers (Alabama Express) – who will line up alongside Glittering Legend in the Class 3 1600m – and Super Express (NZ) (Ten Sovereigns) in the Class 3 1400m.

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