Pre-post favourite Ambitious Dragon must break a 30-year hoodoo to win the HK$16 million Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) at Sha Tin on Sunday after he was dealt the outside gate at yesterday's draw.
No horse has won the four-year-old classic from barrier 14, and jockey Maxime Guyon will need to be at his brilliant best if he is to lift the Tony Millard-trained runner to victory.
Compounding the pressure on the $2.80 favourite is the fact Ambitious Dragon is also aiming to become the first Hong Kong Classic Cup or Derby Trial winner to carry his lead-up success into the Derby - but French talent Guyon remains confident in his mount's ability.
'I think the draw will not be a big problem for Ambitious Dragon,' Guyon said from France yesterday through his translator and agent, Alexis Doussot. 'I will discuss the tactics with Mr Millard when I arrive in Hong Kong on Sunday morning, but my initial feeling is the horse will need to be ridden the same as he was in the Classic Cup.
'It is not ideal to draw wide at the 2,000 metre start, but it is not such a big worry, as he races best from the rear anyway.'
Fixed-odds bookmakers in Australia reacted more pessimistically and pushed Ambitious Dragon out from a pre-draw quote of $2.60 to $2.80 after owner Johnson Lam Pui-hung made the unlucky pick.