A bullish Frankie Lor Fu-chuen believes Illuminous is well placed to maintain his unbeaten local record in Sunday’s Class Three Citi Investment Services Handicap (1,400m) en route to next month’s Hong Kong Derby (2,000m).

Victorious on one of his seven pre-import starts in Australia, Illuminous made a perfect start to life in Hong Kong with a 1,200m Class Three win at Sha Tin earlier this month.

After taking a keen hold at the rear of the field, Illuminous negotiated plenty of traffic before surging for home under Karis Teetan. Edging clear in the final strides, the son of Rock Sturdy finished half a length ahead of fellow debutant Young Champion.

While the pair meet again this weekend with a four-pound swing in Young Champion’s favour, Lor believes his Derby-bound galloper can take a leap forward over the 1,400m trip.

“He won over 1,200m on his first start, and this time is over 1,400m. I think he can win no problem,” Lor said. “In the morning he is quite honest and quiet, so I think 1,400m should be OK for him.”

Punters were surprised as $19 chance Illuminous returned to the winner’s enclosure on debut, but it may have not come as a surprise for Lor, who holds the exciting youngster in very high regard.

“At the moment Illuminous looks like the best of my four-year-olds and he’ll be able to handle a bit further later in his career,” Lor said.

“I’m looking towards the Derby and he’ll hopefully get a higher rating. At the moment he is only rated 71, so I need to race him two times at least and see if he can win.”

The Lor-trained Illuminous has the added task of a wide draw and will need to negotiate gate 11 against his 13 rivals. James McDonald’s mount, Young Champion, and last-start winner Green N White rate the most immediate dangers.

Elsewhere, Lor sends two outside chances to Sunday’s Group One Gold Cup (2,000m) on the hunt for a portion of the HK$13 million prize money.

Usual front-runner Money Catcher was third behind Golden Sixty and Romantic Warrior in the contest last year but faces a tough challenge after he weakened into 14th in the Group Three Centenary Vase (1,800m) earlier this month.

“He’s always consistent,” Lor said. “Luke Ferraris rides him and he looks good in trackwork. We’ll see what happens.”

Sword Point is winless since he recorded a commanding Class Two victory over this course and distance in July last year and steps into Group One company for the second time.

While the five-year-old was comfortably beaten in sixth on his introduction to elite-level company in December’s Hong Kong Cup (2,000m), Lor believes the galloper may have slightly more to offer.

“He looks like he can improve, but not too much,” Lor said. “Maybe a little bit and 2,000m is suitable for him.”