Little Paradise storms home to win HK$13M Hong Kong Classic Mile

Little Paradise (Toronado), ridden by Vincent Ho and trained by Jimmy Ting, produced a powerful finish to win the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) at Sha Tin by about two lengths. The Toronado gelding came from well off the pace, was briefly held up approaching the straight and then unleashed a blistering turn of foot to overhaul his rivals, clocking a final 400m in 22.51 seconds and a closing 200m in 11.16 seconds.

Race images of audacious late acceleration match the official narrative. Little Paradise was held up in around tenth early on some accounts and described as coming from second-last on the turn in others; he was “held up for clear running from the top of the straight until the 250m,” after which Vincent Ho “hooked to the centre of the track … unleashed a blistering turn of foot” to surge past the field. Ho changed direction twice in search of clear running before Little Paradise stormed to his sixth win from nine starts, recording a decisive win by a widening two-length margin.

Runner-up Infinite Resolve (Snitzel), trained by Mark Newnham, impressed on his first test at a mile, while Beauty Bolt tracked the speed and “kept on well after tracking the speed to run third.” The result has immediate implications for the spring classics: connections name the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m) on 1 March and the HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) on 22 March as likely targets. Campaigns/HKJC copy includes phrasing that links the HK$13 million figure to the Classic Cup, an inconsistency with other reports that should be noted.

The victory was a milestone for Jimmy Ting, who called the result “fantastic” and reflected on a nervous moment late: “He’s a very good horse, but at the last 300m I got a bit scared because he got stuck (behind runners) but when he got a gap, Vincent Ho said he was flying home. He’s a very good horse. It’s fantastic.” Ting added that the win ranks as the most important success of his training career, recalling that he “won the [Derby] Trial and this time won the Classic Mile – fantastic.” Vincent Ho paid tribute to his support while returning from injury: “I’m very grateful for the support I’ve had in coming back from injury and to win the Classic Mile is encouraging and I’m always grateful for everything.”

The story also reinforces an Inglis sales narrative. Little Paradise was offered at the 2023 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale by Carramar Park and was purchased by Chris McAnulty and Bond Li for $270,000 after Tim Alchin had bought the dam carrying the foal for $27,500 in 2021. Chris McAnulty said: “For him to be where he was on the home corner and to still win like he did, is pretty unbelievable.” Inglis notes this is the third time in four years an Inglis graduate has taken the Classic Mile, and assesses Little Paradise as the short-priced favourite for the Derby.

Beyond the feature, the Sha Tin card produced a lively supporting cast: “Patch Of Cosmo: wins for Zac Purton, first-up after 315 days. Matthew Chadwick rides the horse in Sunday's Classic Mile.” Lucky Sam Gor won for the fourth time this season with Jerry Chau aboard, Master Lucky (127lb) under Dylan Browne McMonagle landed the Class 4 Clear Water Bay Handicap, and Crossborderdude (128lb) with Zac Purton won the second section of the Class 4 Lam Tsuen Handicap as John Size fired a treble to move to 24 wins in the trainers’ championship.

Little Paradise’s Classic Mile romp reshapes the Derby picture, boosts the profile of his connections and underlines the commercial value of Inglis graduates; with the Classic Cup and BMW Hong Kong Derby on the horizon, the horse now carries both expectation and momentum into March.