Moore began his training career in the 1985-86 season, taking over a full yard from his father, 11-times champion trainer George Moore. Although it's a rarity for someone, anyone, to win a trainers' title first year out - think John Size - Moore did it and his attitude to the achievement is modest in the extreme.

'I took over a fully functional yard, with all the owners and horses basically intact, from the champion trainer. I'd have regarded myself as a failure if I hadn't won the premiership in that first season,' he says candidly.

Moore has been quietly racking up the achievements ever since, to leave himself just two wins from the history-making 1,000 when Sea Treasure (Manoel Nunes) won the final event on the all-weather on Wednesday night.

Whenever it comes, and ideally it will be today while the world is watching, Moore will only allow himself a moment of self congratulation.

Because, like most successful people, he doesn't get carried away by his own publicity and spends the major part of his time looking forward.

'That's the secret, if there is one,' he said this week.

'My father drummed it into us, never be looking back. We are always trying to look forward, trying to identify nice young horses that could be the next big horse in Hong Kong, planning for bigger things on the horizon, aiming for the big prize money of the feature races.

'Our next big target after today will be the Dubai Sheema Classic [Group One] in Dubai and winning a big international Group One, outside of Hong Kong, has been a personal ambition of mine for many years,' Moore added, with infectious enthusiasm.

Moore has been champion trainer four more times since scoring that maiden title in his debut season.

He's also been the leading trainer by prize money for the past two seasons and in many places, notably Europe and North America, that's how the trainers' championship is decided.

He has won two Derbies already - with Makapura Star in 1995 and Viva Pataca two years ago. But this year's classic has probably arrived a bit too soon for Viva Hong Kong who, as his name implies, is owned in the same interests as Viva Pataca, by octogenarian casino magnate Stanley Ho Hung-sun.

Moore's tilt at history aside, Derby day at Sha Tin promises to be one of the great days of the turf.

The Derby itself, the richest and most prestigious local race on the calendar, is a fascinating contest which may well announce the arrival of the next big thing among our horse population, Helene Mascot.

This son of Peintre Celebre, Europe's champion of 1997, is already in a class of his own. He won the Group One Classic Mile first time out and the only other horse to achieve something comparable was the Ivan Allan-trained Firebolt in the Centenary Sprint Cup in 2002.

Helene Mascot is a horse that looks to be all class, and only a setback and the resulting lack of fitness cost him the Derby Trial over 1,800 metres at his only subsequent start.

Besides, trainer Tony Cruz feels like the Derby owes him one, having thought he'd lifted it last year with Floral Pegasus only to find the photo finish giving it to the late-closing Vital King on the outside.

And aside from the Derby there is the clash of the titans - Sacred Kingdom and Good Ba Ba - in a showdown that will have racing folk tuned in from around the globe as the world's champion sprinter for 2007 takes on the champion local miler at the intermediate distance of 1,400 metres.

Where else but Hong Kong could such an enthralling Group One event be merely part of the undercard?