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LITTLE PARADISE, VINCENT HO \/ G1 Hong Kong Classic Mile \/\/ Sha Tin \/\/\/ 2026 \/\/\/\/ Photo by HKJC<\/p>\nYes, Little Paradise was impressive. Yes, he should be Derby favourite. But before we get too carried away, I want to see him do it again under different circumstances \u2013 because the 2026 Hong Kong Classic Mile set up perfectly for him and the BMW Hong Kong Derby might not.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I heard someone say, \u201cImagine how far he would have won by if he\u2019d got out earlier.\u201d I disagree. Being held up for as long as he was actually helped him \u2013 he got out at exactly the right time.<\/p>\n
People have to understand the difference between a horse that can sustain a run and a horse that can sprint. In a genuinely fast-run mile like Sunday was, it\u2019s very hard to come wide and make a long, sustained move around the turn. You\u2019re working the whole time, and once you\u2019re working, you can\u2019t keep it going for 600\u2013700 metres. Horses just don\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n
Little Paradise didn\u2019t have to sustain a long run. He only had to quicken for the last 150\u2013200 metres when the gap finally came. That\u2019s why he looked so sharp \u2013 because the race was set up for a horse who could sit, save and then quicken when the gap opened.<\/p>\n
Look at the horses who hit the line well: they were the ones midfield or worse, doing no work and with cover. Little Paradise was one-off the fence with cover. Infinite Resolve had a soft enough passage near the right spot. Beauty Bolt was outside the leader in a strong-run race, under pressure and still kept finding \u2013 and that\u2019s why I respect him. But the horses trying to build momentum from deep and wide? In a fast-run mile, that\u2019s a brutal task.<\/p>\n
LITTLE PARADISE, VINCENT HO \/ G1 Hong Kong Classic Mile \/\/ Sha Tin \/\/\/ 2026 \/\/\/\/ Photo by HKJC<\/p>\n
![\"Jimmy](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Jimmy-T-and-Little-P-1024x834.jpg\")
JIMMY TING, LITTLE PARADISE \/ G1 Hong Kong Classic Mile \/\/ Sha Tin \/\/\/ 2026 \/\/\/\/ Photo by HKJC<\/p>\n
That brings us to the big picture. Since the Derby distance was increased to 2000m in 2000, only seven Classic Mile winners have gone on to win the Derby. Five of those have been in the last nine years \u2013 and two of them were proper champions and the other very good: Golden Sixty (2020), Romantic Warrior (2022) and Voyage Bubble (2023). Another one, Rapper Dragon (2017), looked like he could have been headed that way too before his career was tragically cut short.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the point: the Classic Mile\u2013Derby double is not something an \u201cordinary good\u201d horse does. It takes a very, very good one.<\/p>\n
And the Derby test in Hong Kong isn\u2019t always about \u2018stamina\u2019 the way some overseas people think. It\u2019s often about racing manners. Can your horse relax when the tempo drops? Can he go slow enough mid-race when the pace slackens \u2013 which often happens as the races step up in distance \u2013 and then still pick up when it counts?<\/p>\n
Little Paradise has shown he\u2019s got a powerful sprint when it\u2019s laid out for him. But the Classic Mile was close to the perfect run to make him look great. He was flattered by the way the race was run and the way it opened for him late.<\/p>\n
Now I want to see him do it again under different circumstances \u2013 when things don\u2019t go exactly right. If he\u2019s out at the 700 and having to sustain a wide run in a fast-run race, can he still win? Maybe he can. Maybe he\u2019s just better than them. But that\u2019s still a question.<\/p>\n
And don\u2019t forget the horses behind him. Invincible Ibis is the obvious \u201cforgive\u201d runner. He was last, had to make a long run and that\u2019s a nightmare around that turn at that speed \u2013 especially when you\u2019re being pushed about and bumped. It didn\u2019t help that Patch Of Cosmo was bothering him from the inside either. Invincible Ibis didn\u2019t get the right run to be competitive. It was close to impossible.<\/p>\n
So yes \u2013 Little Paradise is the horse to beat right now. But the Derby isn\u2019t won in late January, it will be won on March 22. But before then a lot of the questions I have about Little Paradise \u2013\u00a0and his key rivals \u2013\u00a0will be answered over 1800m in the Classic Cup.<\/p>\n
Zac Was Disappointed, But Sagacious Life Ran OK<\/p>\n
Zac Purton was clearly disappointed with Sagacious Life \u2013 and I get it, because he chose him over at least six other Classic Mile rivals, including the winner.<\/p>\n
But I actually thought the Brazilian import ran OK in fourth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019s not the type of horse that\u2019s going to sprint like Little Paradise did when the gap came, particularly given the run he had from the draw. He was three-deep the whole way and there wasn\u2019t much Zac could do about it.<\/p>\n
This horse doesn\u2019t quicken. He\u2019s a grinder \u2013 he keeps whacking away. That can look plain in a truly fast-run mile when others are able to sprint off a soft run, but it can also be the profile of a horse that\u2019s looking for 2000 metres and a more genuine staying test later in the series.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t go bad. He just ran like the horse he is \u2013 a Derby-type who\u2019ll keep coming, not a horse who\u2019s going to put three lengths on them in 200 metres.<\/p>\n
![\"Zac](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768542133_664_Sagacious-Life-HKJC-reduced-1024x671.jpg\")
ZAC PURTON, SAGACIOUS LIFE \/ Sha Tin \/\/ 2025 \/\/\/ Photo by HKJC<\/p>\n
Others To Watch: The 2026 Four-Year-Old Classic Series Is Still Wide Open<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re looking beyond the winner, there are still plenty of Derby hopes alive.<\/p>\n
Beauty Bolt continues to run tough races. He sat outside the lead in a fast-run race, under pressure, and when the horses around him faded he still found more. He hasn\u2019t run a bad race in Hong Kong and he keeps giving you an honest effort.<\/p>\n
Patch Of Cosmo also ran well, and I\u2019m forgiving him. First-up last start he was coming off a long break \u2013 more than 300 days due to a tendon issue \u2013 and ran a terrific mile with a big weight. To back that up two weeks later is not a plus, it\u2019s often a trap. Given the run he had, I thought he was good and he\u2019s a big watch going forward.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m also not dropping Invincible Ibis off one run. He had genuine excuses and you can\u2019t judge him harshly off a trip where he had to start his move early and sustain it around the bend at speed.<\/p>\n
And keep an eye on the other winners on the day who are still Derby eligible. Lucky Sam Gor won the 1600m and is doing nothing wrong. Super Express took out the 1400m \u2013 he\u2019s still learning, but he\u2019s in the conversation until proven otherwise.<\/p>\n
The big thing is this: the Classic Mile has not \u201cended the series\u201d \u2013\u00a0it\u2019s only made it more interesting. \u220e<\/p>\n
![\"Jim](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Jim-Ting-HKJC-cropped.jpg\")
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Michael Cox<\/p>\n
Full Circle: Jimmy Ting’s 26-Year Journey Back To The Race That Made Him<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Michael Cox<\/p>\n \u201cBak Lou Gam Gong!\u201d: Daniel Zigal And His Horse Of A Lifetime Invincible Ibis<\/p>\n![\"Daniel](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Daniel-Zigal-feat-img-1024x768.jpg\")
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