The pace was muddling to slow and Ting deserves the credit for stacking them up and getting clear. But it left horses like favourite Housemaster (5-2) with an impossible task over this 1,600-metre trip.

British champion jockey Kieren Fallon desperately needed a hot pace so that Housemaster might be able to run on at the end but instead he got a near crawl.

'It just wasn't going to happen for us,' he said.

But it did happen all right for Kan and Ting who have been together - barring one brief break - for well over a decade. Ting was apprenticed to the former champion trainer and is now coming back into the picture.

He had earlier scored on No Money No Honey (9-1) for his former master in the third event on the card. That was a Class Three 1,000-metre dash and produced an exciting finish with a short head the margin between No Money No Honey and 40-1 chance Bond.

Kan has chalked up five Classic Trial wins and has a love affair with the Hong Kong Derby.

'I bought Industrialist with the Derby in mind and he can win it. This was a good win for him and Ting rode him perfectly. I don't need a stable jockey,' he said after the 1.5-length win over Kenwood Melody (10-1), prepared by David Hayes.

'He is definitely coming to himself and that was the best thing that came out of this race for me,' said Hayes.

'I thought Divine Prospect had a very good chance but the way the race was run ruined it for most of us. It won't happen like that in the Derby,' stressed the champion trainer, who could have five runners in the richest domestic race in the calendar.

The surprise package in the race was the Robbie Fradd-ridden Electronic Unicorn (15-1), running off a rating of 73, who finished an electrifying third, three quarters of a length back from Kenwood Melody and clear of Housemaster who finished sixth.

German debutant Gonlargo (18-1), with Michael Kinane up, will be improved by the run in which he finished eighth of 13.

Said Kinane: 'He was very anxious in the paddock, playing up a lot. The pace was against us but he will learn from this.' The John Moore-trained Survey General (35-1) went into the race under a cloud and finished last. He is unlikely to start in the 2,000-metre Classic.

An interesting Derby pointer also came in the final race on the card when the Tony Millard-trained Keen Winner (3-1) ran away with an 1,800-metre Classes One and Two event.

Millard confirmed that he had picked out Keen Winner as a potential Derby runner for the stable early in the season not long after taking over the training of the Selkirk four-year-old from Patrick Biancone.

'I checked out a few things including the breeding on the dam's side obviously and there is no doubt in my mind that he will run 2,000 metres. He won this as he pleased and has come on a lot.

'I did not want to tackle the Classic Trial because that is over a mile and I wanted 1,800 metres as a better trip to prepare Keen Winner. This win will bump his rating up a lot and I am confident he will get a run in the Derby,' said Millard.

It was a good training effort from the South African and second-placed Win For Lily (18-1) was always going to be a bit player behind a horse who has always been well thought of by many observers.

Topweight Triumphant Feeling (8-1) finished a head back in third place, making it another frustrating race for Hayes.

Favourite Chiu Shan Glory (3-1) finished fourth but was never a real winning chance at any stage.

Robin Parke