Patience will be the key to the chances of Beauty Bolt in Sunday’s Classic Cup (1,800m) at Sha Tin, with his trainer Tony Cruz emphasising how crucial it is for jockey James McDonald to wait until the very last minute to pounce.

The Night Of Thunder galloper won his only start in Ireland pre-import for Joseph O’Brien and is yet to finish outside the top four in eight Hong Kong starts, with seven of those runs seeing him finish on the podium.

A mile winner four runs ago, he posted a career-best effort on his most recent start in the Classic Mile, where he finished third behind impressive winner Little Paradise.

The bare finishing position does not tell the full story, however, as he travelled up like the winner for much of the race before shifting in when put under pressure, forcing McDonald to straighten him up and lose crucial momentum.

That did not cost him the race, with Little Paradise shooting past in smart fashion, but it likely cost him second and Cruz thinks a change of tactics can see him make amends at the longer trip.

“I was very happy with that performance,” said Cruz of his charge, who will break from barrier nine in the second leg of the Classic Series.

“This horse needs to have a good barrier draw, because he’s got plenty of late speed and we need to cover him up. From an outside draw, we’d be in trouble, because he needs to be covered up all the way to the last part of the race.

“If he hits the front too early, then he starts to think about it. It’s a lack of concentration and that’s how he got beat in the Classic Mile.”

Although barrier nine is likely to have been met with disappointment by Cruz on Thursday morning, the legendary trainer has grand designs for his promising four-year-old, who will also contest the Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) on March 22.

“His pedigree suggests he should stay the 1,800m trip – we’re still going for the Derby at the end of the day, it’s what we bought him for. I believe he can get the 2,000m distance too but we need to get him in the right position,” said Cruz.

Elsewhere in the race, jockey Luke Ferraris is looking forward to getting back on board the David Eustace-trained Dazzling Fit, who will break from barrier seven as he makes his Classic Series debut.

Eustace elected to play the long game with his son of Ribchester, opting to skip the first leg of the four-year-old series in favour of giving him extra time between runs to set him up for the Classic Cup.

He will also arrive to the race with the added benefit of 1,800m experience, having finished third over course and distance on his most recent start when seeing out the trip strongly.

Ferraris, who has been on board for two of his three wins, gets back aboard with Zac Purton engaged on Sagacious Life and McDonald on Beauty Bolt, and he believes there is plenty more to come from his mount.

“He seems pretty good. He’ll need a race run to suit – he’s still maturing and isn’t the final product yet, but he’s given every sign that he’s going to be a nice horse,” said Ferraris.

“He’s pretty easy to ride, he can get fired up a little bit but he’s got a great action on him and a relatively good temperament so he’s not hard to work with.

“I think he’ll appreciate the 1,800m trip. If there can be a little bit of pace on to help him just get into a rhythm and settle, that would be good. He’s got a big action and if he can get those things to suit I’d give him a big shout.”