Tony Cruz-trained Beauty Only got a great ride to make a mess of his fellow four-year-olds last time and stamped himself the one to beat again stepping up to 1800m in the Group One Classic Cup at Sha Tin today, reports Racing Post HK.

The Derby is coming sharply into focus a month out and a lot can happen in that time but Beauty Only (Neil Callan) needs only to hold his form today to hold his place as nominal Derby favourite.

The Classic Cup has been a graveyard for favourites in its brief history. Floral Pegasus won both in 2007 as the only horse to do so, with the two races usually a different style.

Designs On Rome was well in betting last year beating odds-on stablemate Able Friend, while the five winners prior were double figures, even triple figures in the case of 125-1 victor It Has To Be You.

There are trappy aspects to today's race but it is difficult not to see Beauty Only as the logical favourite. The former Italian-based, Irish-bred galloper has yet to step beyond 1,600m in Hong Kong but it looks a positive and he was unbeaten in two attempts at 1,800m in his former home.

Connections tinkered with Beauty Only's race pattern in his only real flop, while a very slow tempo worked against him in his other defeat.

In the Classic Mile, it was back to basics, letting Beauty Only find his feet as the leaders rolled along in the first half then Callan came around to pounce at the 400m and set up a break. It wouldn't have been unreasonable for the horse to surrender a good part of that lead late but he was strongest to the post to win by more than two lengths.

The tricks today lie with moving to an inside draw off a muddling pace, after an outside draw in the Classic Mile and a generous speed allowed Callan to ride the race on his own terms.

Barring surprises, Contentment (Nash Rawiller) and Twin Delight should own the lead ahead of Thunder Fantasy and there seems little incentive to go quickly.

John Size-trained Contentment looks a danger in a race Size has won twice before in upsets with It Has To Be You and 17-1 shot Unique Jewellery.

There were different views on how Contentment's second to Redkirk Warrior might have turned out in different circumstances and Rawiller was a big winner from the stewards' view that asking the gelding for his effort earlier would not have changed the result. We shall never know but horse and rider get an opportunity to swing that defeat around today.