Veteran trainer John Moore rates Ambitious Dragon equal to the best he has seen race in Hong Kong and says only 'bad luck or ill health' will see the reigning Horse of the Year beaten by his domestic rivals.
Moore's stable provides three of Ambitious Dragon's opponents in Sunday's Cathay Pacific Jockey Club Mile at Sha Tin - Xtension, Able One and Destined For Glory - but conceded that only misfortune would see Tony Millard's star defeated.
Moore, 61, speaks from authority: he is a six-time premiership winner in Hong Kong and has trained more than 1,200 winners in a career stretching back to 1985.
'Up until what I've seen now, Ambitious Dragon is equal to anything I've seen running around in the past,' Moore said. 'I'm only taking into consideration the horses I'm putting up against him, but what's presently in Hong Kong I don't think could beat him from a mile up to 2,000m or 2,400m.
'Beating him ... even over the mile, that's going to be quite a task. The only way I can see him being beaten is if he got into a serious traffic jam or ill-health.'
After winning a record-equalling seven races last season, including the Hong Kong Derby and Queen Elizabeth II Cup, Ambitious Dragon resumed with a scintillating performance in the National Day Cup over the unsuitable distance of 1,400m on October 1. He gave weight to a quality field of sprinters and milers and blew them away with a performance that left no doubt he had returned as good, if not better, than before.
Of Moore's entries, Xtension is the obvious danger to Ambitious Dragon and is likely to start second favourite over his pet distance on Sunday, the precursor to the Hong Kong International Races on December 14.