Lucky Sweynesse’s dominance of Hong Kong’s elite-level sprints came to an emphatic end at Sha Tin on Sunday as Derek Leung Ka-chun landed a fairy-tale success aboard Victor The Winner in the Group One Centenary Sprint Cup (1,200m).

Five days on from being named the world’s leading speedster in the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, $1.3 favourite Lucky Sweynesse tasted a shock defeat and handed his Centenary Sprint Cup crown to a $38 shot whose rider was originally meant to be watching from the weighing room.

Replacing the injured Vincent Ho Chak-yiu, Leung masterfully steered Victor The Winner to a maiden Group One victory and earned himself a first top-level win since Beauty Generation’s Hong Kong Mile success in 2017.

“I’ve been waiting for this one for a long time. It feels very good,” Leung said. “It’s what all us jockeys want, to win the Group Ones, so I’m very happy.”

Jumping from gate 10, Victor The Winner assumed his customary leading position before taking his 12 rivals along at a sedate early pace, with the first 400m run eight-tenths of a second outside standard time.

After the leisurely gallop continued, with the second section 0.85 of a second slower than standard, Leung pressed the button on Victor The winner and began to pile the pressure on his opponents.

While it was soon apparent Lucky Sweynesse could not overcome his significant deficit in the final furlong, Lucky With You and Wellington loomed up menacingly, but their winning chances were short-lived.

Leung kept Victor The Winner up to his work in the closing stages to finish a length and three-quarters clear of Lucky With You in second, with Lucky Sweynesse four-and-a-quarter lengths back in sixth.

Passing the winning post, the 35-year-old rider let out a scream that might well have been audible back at the 1,000m start.

“It felt great,” Leung said. “We had an outside draw, but looking at the field there weren’t too many horses going to be up on the pace. I just made sure he jumped sharp and clean. We flew out the gate and took advantage.

“We just went forward and he was quite relaxed after that. At the 500m, I knew he was going to kick very strong and it was going to be a good result.”

Victor The Winner’s triumph marked another Group One victory for Danny Shum Chap-shing, who has become accustomed to top-level success thanks to Romantic Warrior’s recent wins in the Cox Plate (2,040m) and Hong Kong Cup (2,000m).

The 63-year-old handler was delighted to give one of Hong Kong’s less celebrated riders a shot on the biggest stage.

“Vincent was supposed to ride him, but he fell,” Shum said. “Derek text me and said, ‘Please give me a chance’, and he deserved that chance.

“He rode him very well and followed the instructions to go in front. His pace for the first [sectional] was absolutely great and when he got a good lead, I thought he had a chance. He’s tough and very good in front.”

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Immediately after the five-year-old’s breakout success, Shum turned his sights to an ambitious overseas target – Japan’s Group One Takamatsunomiya Kinen (1,200m) on March 24.

“I will see how he pulls up and then decide if I keep him in Hong Kong or send him to Japan in March,” Shum said.

“I’ve considered Japan for a long time because it’s a left-hand turn. In the morning, his left-hand turn is better than his right-hand turn, so we have to give him a chance overseas.”