Can Little Paradise follow in the footsteps of some of the best Classic Mile winners and progress to superstardom?

On the strength of his explosive victory on Sunday, when he overcame a horrific run in the first half of the straight to dispose of what many rated as a strong crop of four-year-olds with ease, it’s hard to say no.

Stepping up to the mile for the first time, Jimmy Ting Koon-ho’s stable star was in danger of being the hard luck story of the race when he was second last on the turn and badly held up for clear running.

But when Vincent Ho Chak-yiu switched the son of Toronado back out to the centre of the track and into the clear, he let down with a mesmerising finishing burst to claim an emphatic win.

The winning margin of two lengths was seemingly established in the blink of an eye. The strong speed set by Winfield set up a backmarker like Little Paradise to swoop, but could he have won by further if he got into the clear earlier?

Adding further weight to Little Paradise’s success was a new race record time of 1:33.31, eclipsing Able Friend’s 1:33.43 from 2014.

It also prompted some on course to compare it to the great Golden Sixty’s win in the same race six years ago.

Little Paradise, with an imposing record of six wins from nine starts, has a long, long way to go to get anywhere near Golden Sixty’s achievements, but there is no denying a star was born on Sunday.

The Classic Mile has been the launching pad for plenty of Group One heroes in more recent years – Romantic Warrior, Golden Sixty, Voyage Bubble, Able Friend and Gold-Fun, just to name a few.

And seven of the past 10 winners have gone on to taste further success in the prestigious four-year-old series, which puts Little Paradise right in the frame for the Classic Cup (1,800m) on March 1 and Hong Kong’s most coveted race, the HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) on March 22.

He will bid to join the likes of Sun Jewellery, Rapper Dragon, Golden Sixty and Helios Express in winning the Classic Mile-Classic Cup double, while victory in the second leg will put him on the verge of joining Rapper Dragon and Golden Sixty as the only horses to clean sweep all three legs of the Classic Series.

“He finished off very well, so he can definitely handle a mile without a problem and I told Jimmy even for 1,800m, he will also produce that sort of kick as long as we relax him early,” Ho said.

“So, I’m looking forward to the Classic Cup and the Derby.”

Ho picked up the prized ride after Zac Purton opted to ride Sagacious Life over Little Paradise and several other top contenders.

Purton, who had won three races on Little Paradise this term, was left bitterly disappointed – “terrible” was all he said about Sagacious Life’s solid but unspectacular fourth.

Looking ahead to the Classic Cup and Derby, it is difficult to see any of the Classic Mile’s beaten brigade turning the tables on Little Paradise and apart from Frankie Lor Fu-chuen’s impressive Australian import Numbers, there doesn’t appear to be a lot from the outside jumping in.

Those two races could change complexion with a slower speed than what was set in the Classic Mile. But then again, Little Paradise has shown the versatility to also win on the speed, so that won’t pose a problem for him.