After being ‘an inch’ away from BMW Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) glory 12 months ago, Mark Newnham is hoping to cap a memorable week in his career with victory in the city’s most coveted race with Invincible Ibis.

Fresh off training his first ever five-timer after a remarkable night at Happy Valley on Wednesday, Newnham is now looking to Invincible Ibis to create another slice of history for a yard sharply on the rise.

His star four-year-old came into the Classic Series as the horse to beat, winning four races on the bounce while beating many of his Classic Mile rivals, but he had excuses when enduring a wide trip to finish sixth behind Little Paradise.

He bounced back to form in no uncertain terms with a fast-finishing second to Stormy Grove in the Classic Cup (1,800m) and after drawing the perfect barrier in three, Newnham is hopeful of a big performance as he stretches out in trip.

“He’s been in good form all season – I was very forgiving of his Classic Mile run, plenty weren’t, but I could see there was merit in that race,” Newnham said.

“From a good draw, he’s got options and the leader looks like it’ll be Numbers who has drawn wide. Hopefully, there will be a few that make him work a bit early and we just get an evenly run race where everyone gets the chance.

“If he’s good enough, then Invincible Ibis will be there. He’s training like a horse who will run [2,000m] out strongly, but until they do you’re never sure. My Wish probably went in with the same concerns last year and ran well.”

On paper, Classic Mile winner Little Paradise, Group Three victor Numbers and Classic Cup winner Stormy Grove are the horses to beat, but wide draws for Little Paradise and Numbers add some jeopardy to their chances.

Although being wary of Numbers chiefly, Newnham knows just how good his Hellbent galloper is and has never lost faith in his ability.

“Of the horses that have raced, Numbers is the horse that has established form at the trip before coming to Hong Kong and since he arrived. He’s probably the one beat,” Newnham said.

“Invincible Ibis was probably going into the Classic Cup under the radar but I don’t think he is going into the Derby. People have readjusted their sights and their expectations on what he’s capable of.

“That’s out of my hands – I don’t really care what people think or where they rate him, the result will be the result and we can only prepare him the best we can. He’s going into the race in the best shape he can be.”

Reminders of last year’s heartbreaking defeat have been constant for Newnham, with replays of My Wish’s short-head defeat to Cap Ferrat a constant fixture in promotional packages leading up to the race.

Despite being drawn in the car park draw of 14, punters retained faith and sent My Wish off $6.1 second favourite. Turning last with a huge amount of ground to make up, he screamed home widest of all to miss out by one of the barest margins.

Newnham has had no choice but to keep reliving it, but he is hoping Sunday can give him a much happier replay he can watch for the next year.

“I’m sick of looking at replays of last year so I’m just going to be happy once they take those off the TV,” Newnham said. “It hurts a lot when you see that, because they do only get one chance at it and it’s the most important race here.

“Last year, we walked away from the barrier draw thinking it was mission impossible, and we were an inch away from it being possible.

“Wednesday night went unbelievably well – we went there with a good team of horses with nice draws, but you never expect to get five winners. It was well above expectations and I hope it continues on Sunday.”

Newnham heads into Sunday with plenty of chances on the undercard too, with Classic Mile second Infinite Resolve running in the Class Two Golden Sixty Handicap (1,400m), while Aerodynamics – a close fourth over 2,000m last start – heads to the Class Three Designs On Rome Handicap (1,800m).

“I just thought the Derby distance was too much of an ask for Infinite Resolve. He’s a horse that has hit form now and I didn’t want to give him a gut-busting run and take that away from him,” said Newnham.

“A freshen up back to 1,400m, where his two runs at 1,400m and 1,600m behind Little Paradise were very good runs and that form looks very strong in this class. I’m expecting him to run well.

“Aerodynamics hasn’t had much luck in his last two starts and he gets the cheek pieces on now. He’s drawn wider on Sunday, which I think will suit him, and he just hasn’t raced with much luck in his last two.

“With the cheek pieces on, Zac [Purton] can hopefully work across into a good position and hopefully he gets an uninterrupted race on this occasion.”