Caspar Fownes praised the patience of “amazing owner” Aaron Kwok Fu-shing after debutant Dancing Classics saluted for the Cantopop star at Sha Tin on Sunday.

Almost two years after arriving in Hong Kong, Dancing Classics finally made it to race day after experiencing repeated lameness.

It was worth the wait for connections, with the four-year-old steaming to victory in 55.57 seconds in the Class Four Beijing Clubhouse Cup (1,000m).

“He’s had a lot of issues. It’s very expensive to keep paying up for these horses and it’s very rewarding,” said Fownes.

“It means a lot when you know they’ve got potential and they’ve just constantly got issues and you bring them back.”

Prominent throughout near the outside rail after beginning well under Hugh Bowman from barrier 12, Dancing Classics assumed control inside the 150m to see off Fun Elite by a length.

Kwok’s fifth horse with Fownes, Dancing Classics became the third of those to win on debut, while the other two have run second before going on to taste success later in their careers.

“We’ve been lucky – we’ve bought him some really nice horses over the years,” said Fownes.

“[Dancing Classic’s] got a very big engine. We just hope now that he pulls up well and we’ve got a horse for the end of the season coming in with a fresh pair of legs.

Dancing Classics (red and black colours) charges down the Sha Tin straight on Sunday.

“Hopefully [Kwok] can get rewarded for being an amazing owner and being so patient and believing.”

Bowman was pleased Dancing Classics finally got to show his wares on race day after first getting a feel for the son of Press Statement in a couple of Conghua trials.

“He’s a horse that’s shown a bit – a fair bit, actually,” said Bowman.

“I trialled him at Conghua some months ago and I was very excited by him. He’s been plagued by a few niggling issues between then and now, so it’s taken a bit of time.

“My second ride on him was during the week. I bounced him down the back and I was pretty satisfied he could come here and perform well and he did that with flying colours.

“He’s got improvement to come and he’s an exciting, young horse.”

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