Mr Gnocchi: first pasta the post?

Horse owner-breeder Dr Gene Tsoi Wai-wang says buying young horses is like buying rocks in Myanmar - you won't know if there's a gem inside until you bring it back and crack it open.

This time, he found a first-class gem in Mr Gnocchi.

When he bought the six-month-old colt in Australia three years ago, there was nothing that made him stand out from the others. He bought Mr Gnocchi because he thought the price of the horse was reasonable.

Now, with more than HK$3 million in winnings behind him, Mr Gnocchi is ready to take part in Sunday's annual Hong Kong Derby - one of the biggest events on the city's racing calendar and its most historic race.

The 2,000-metre race brings together the city's 14 best four-year-old horses.

"Among the horses that I previously owned, some of them never won and some never even took part in a race. This one has got back for me what I lost in the past," said Tsoi, a former president of the Hong Kong College of Family Physicians who runs a private clinic in Central.

If Mr Gnocchi clinches the title, Tsoi will become only the second racehorse owner in Hong Kong to have two Derby champions in traceable records dating back to 1971. His other gem was Elegant Fashion, who became the first filly to win the Derby in almost two decades in 2003.