Jimmy Ting Koon-ho has Little Paradise back on track – and now he has December’s International Day on his mind.
Little Paradise put a difficult second half of the season behind him at Sha Tin on Sunday, winning the Group 3 Premier Cup over 1,400 meters under Zac Purton and giving Ting’s stable a boost before the summer break.
The four-year-old had promised to be one of the stories of the season when he produced a brilliant win in the Classic Mile, the opening leg of Hong Kong’s four-year-old series. But the campaign soon came apart. He was beaten as favorite in the Classic Cup over 1,800 meters, failed again as favorite in the Hong Kong Derby over 2,000 meters and then finished 10th when tried against older horses in the Group 1 Champions Mile.
Back at 1,400 meters, and back under Purton, he looked like himself again.
Purton gave Little Paradise a patient midfield ride before angling clear in the straight and letting him finish the job. Galaxy Patch charged home for second in a performance that also pointed to better things next season, while longshot Lucky With You held third. Race favorite Winning Ovation was trapped wide under Joao Moreira and finished fifth.
For Ting, in his eighth season and usually stationed near the lower end of the trainers’ standings, the win carried extra weight. Little Paradise is by far the best horse he has trained, and after the gelding’s Classic Series campaign went wrong, the trainer needed to get him back on course.
Purton said some of the criticism of Ting had been unfair.
“I feel sorry for Jimmy – some pilot errors sort of made things look a little complicated recently,” Purton said in his post-race interview. “He has been turning the horse out as well as he can and I was just happy for him that the horse got a nice clear run and he was able to show what he can do.”
Ting eased off Little Paradise after the Champions Mile and brought him into Sunday’s race off a relatively light preparation.
“After the Champions Mile he was a bit tired so I gave him a short break and then talked to the owner,” Ting said. “The owner highly recommended this race.
“I think the horse’s fitness was only around 90 percent because he was still tired, so lucky his form came up, we had a good draw and a good jockey. 1,400 meters is suitable for him and he had the light weight, so that is why he could win. The last 50 meters he was feeling a bit tired.”
The Premier Cup has become a useful marker for horses capable of taking the next step. Sterling City won the race in 2013 before taking the Group 1 Golden Shaheen in Dubai the following year. Sky Field won the 2021 edition before landing the Hong Kong Sprint later that season. Beauty Eternal won in 2023 and returned the next season to win the Champions Mile.
Ting hopes Little Paradise can put himself on a similar path toward Group 1 company, with the Longines Hong Kong Mile on International Day the obvious target.
“Hopefully after the break he will come back a little bit improved and the target will be to run in the mile,” Ting said. “1,400 or 1,600 is the best distance for this horse and I hope he can improve enough.”
There was a neat piece of history between Purton and owner Ko Kam-piu.
This was the same week, 14 years ago, that Purton won what was then the King’s Stand Stakes – now known as the G1 King Charles III Stakes – on day 1 at Royal Ascot aboard Little Bridge, a breakthrough Group 1 victory that helped launch Purton onto the international stage.
“It’s obviously a lucky week for connections and myself,” Purton said.
Now another Ko-owned horse may have found his own turning point.
Just as Little Bridge gave Purton’s career a lift at Royal Ascot, Sunday’s Premier Cup win could prove crucial for Little Paradise – and for Ting – after a season that had threatened to slip away.
“He was probably not at his best today after having that break and only one trial coming into it, and they really ran along and ran good time,” Purton said. “I think next season, after a bit of a break, there is every chance he can take another step.”