Owner Marc Chan will launch a two-pronged attack in his very first BMW Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) attempt on Sunday at Sha Tin with Stormy Grove and Seraph Gabriel.

While Chan has savoured significant success in his lilac and gold colours across Europe, including multiple Group One victories with flag-bearer Kinross, this is the first year that he has had any runner make the final Derby field.

“I’ve never been in the Hong Kong Derby. I’ve been to the French Derby and ran second, I had Stanhope Gardens in the Epsom Derby and he ran fifth. It’s my first time in this race, it’s an icebreaker and I’ve got two runners, so I’m feeling very excited,” Chan said.

Originally from Malaysia, Chan has been a long-time Jockey Club member and owner in Hong Kong.

“Every horse owner wants to win this race in Hong Kong – it will be a dream come true and a fairy tale come true. It’s a major occasion for the Hong Kong community and the racing fans here,” Chan said.

Chan has already been fortunate enough to take out the second leg of the four-year-old series when Stormy Grove and Harry Bentley saluted in the Classic Cup (1,800m) last start with a stunning turn of foot from near last

Regular jockey Bentley will take the reigns again today as the the Frankie Lor Fu-chuen-trained galloper seeks his third consecutive win, which he has drawn ideally for in barrier seven.

“Barrier seven is right in the middle where we wanted to be. He showed potential when he ran in the seven-furlong race [second on January 11], he showed that turn of foot which he showed back in Australia. He was getting acclimatised and being able to relax and get into a rhythm,” Chan said.

Chan will be hoping that the 98-rater can once again use his lethal burst of speed that has become a hallmark of his recent performances.

“I am a bit surprised – I knew he had a turn of foot, but I didn’t know it was that potent. Running sub-23 seconds [for the last 400m] in a mile race was something spectacular,” he said.

The David Eustace-trained Seraph Gabriel will jump from barrier 12 with eight-time Hong Kong champion jockey Zac Purton on board.

The British import is yet to win in Hong Kong from just three starts and will bid to bounce back from a lacklustre 10th at the Derby course and distance last start.

However, he has since won a trial impressively and won’t have any issues staying the trip on Sunday, having finished second in the Golden Gate Stakes (1,993m) at Royal Ascot last year.

“He was a bit flat last time but he is a true 10-furlong horse, so I hope he is back in form. His UK form was very consistent, so that race last time was the only time he didn’t run well. If he’s back to the UK form, he’ll stay 2,000m very well,” Chan said.

Seraph Gabriel and Dazzling Fit will be Eustace’s first Derby runners, but the British handler was dealt a cruel blow at Thursday’s barrier draw, with Dazzling Fit also copping a wide gate in 14.