Frankie Lor Fu-chuen enjoyed a day to remember at Sha Tin on Saturday after training his 500th Hong Kong winner and unleashing a Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) contender with impressive feature winner Numbers.

Lor, who started his career as an apprentice jockey and trained his first winner with Yourthewonforme at Sha Tin in 2017, rose to the pinnacle by winning the 2021-22 trainers’ championship.

And the three-time Group One winner, who enjoyed Derby success with Furore in 2019, will be dreaming of more glory with Numbers after he stormed to victory in the Class Two Long Ke Handicap (2,000m).

A dual winner in Australia who also finished second in the Group One Queensland Derby (2,400m) at Eagle Farm when named King Of Thunder, he showed immediate ability in Hong Kong when third on debut at Happy Valley.

Stepping up in trip for his first start at Sha Tin, Numbers was smashed out of the gate by Derek Leung Ka-chun and never looked back, making all the running in dominant fashion.

Victory never looked in doubt for his backers at $6, with the Tivaci galloper extending nicely off the home turn and he was always a length too strong for his rivals, ultimately holding off a hard-charging Winning Wing by that margin.

The Hong Kong Derby is now the obvious target for such a promising horse and his handler thinks a further step up in trip will bring out even more from his powerful galloper.

“He’s a big, strong horse with a big stride,” said Lor. “The jockey said ‘2,000m is still not enough, he can go 2,200m or 2,400m’. In Australia he had 2,400m form.

“He’s quite easy to train. Sometimes big horses need more work to train, but he’s quite easy.

“I’ll see if the owner wants to go in all three Classic Series races or just the 1,800m and 2,000m, because 1,600m might be a bit short for him.”

The win was the second leg of a double on a landmark for day Lor, who watched Salon S remain unbeaten with an all-the-way success in the Class Four Wong Chuk Wan Handicap (1,400m).

Sent off the $2.1 favourite on the back of an impressive win on debut where he made all the running, he repeated the feat with the minimum of fuss under Matthew Poon Ming-fai.

Crossing over from stall seven to lead, he was always going a stride too quick for his rivals and was never fully extended to win by a length and three-quarters.

“He was a little bit fast in the second stage and he carried a big weight, so I was a bit worried that he cannot finish. He did the best for me and won the race and got the 500th winner for me,” said Lor.

That win marked Lor’s 500th victory in Hong Kong and he was quick to praise his staff and owners as he recounted some brilliant memories that got him to the milestone.

“The first two years I got a licence, I had really good seasons, so I have very good memories in my mind,” said Lor.

“I’m lucky to get some good horses in my stable, so I need to thank the owners first and also for the Jockey Club to give me a chance and also for my stable team – they work really hard for me.

“When you become an apprentice jockey and later on when you are getting older, you need to think about finding another job to go ahead and then training was my dream also.”

Leung joined Lor with a double of his own after booting home Cody Mo Wai-kit’s Jumbo Treasure in the closing Class Three Shui Long Wo Handicap (1,200m).