They might be on the borderline of gaining a start, but connections of Dragon Joy and Embraces haven’t given up their hopes of Classic Mile berths after the duo’s electrifying wins at Sha Tin on Sunday.

On a day where most of the city’s top four-year-olds were out to press their claims for the Classic Mile, Dragon Joy and Embraces were chasing much-needed boosts to their low ratings as the race for a spot in the field on January 31 heats up.

Ricky Yiu Poon-fai’s Dragon Joy saluted in the Class Three Pak Shek Au Handicap (1,600m), which was restricted to four-year-olds, landing a late betting plunge after he was brown-lamped from $26 to $9.8 just before the start.

The spectacular last-to-first performance from barrier 14 under Matthew Poon Ming-fai will lift his rating of 60, but the penalty from handicappers might not be enough for him to sneak into the Classic Mile field.

“They will put him up double digits. He was out of the handicap – maybe 12 or 13 points,” Yiu said after Dragon Joy ran down Markwin by a shorthead.

“It was a very nice win. He’s proven over 1,400m and a mile, but I will stick to the same distance for a bit before I think about going over further. It’s too soon to tell [if he’s a BMW Hong Kong Derby horse].”

Mo was less optimistic about his recent recruit Embraces making the Classic Mile field, despite his outstanding display in the Class Three Pak Tin Handicap (1,600m).

Ridden by Jerry Chau Chun-lok, Embraces justified $4.8 favouritism when launching a powerful run from near last to beat Glorious Success by a neck.

The son of Reliable Man backed up his sizzling stable debut for Mo when scoring over 1,650m at Happy Valley on Boxing Day.

“I think it will be difficult because of the rating. He’s 62 and maybe today, eight pounds up – maybe [a rating of] 70,” Mo said.

“Maybe he’ll have one more race at Sha Tin and hopefully win one more race and get into the Classic Cup.”

The second leg of the four-year-old series, the Classic Cup (1,800m), is on March 2 before the final leg, the HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2,000m), on March 23.

Mo will still have strong claims in the Classic Mile with Markwin, who had to settle for second behind Dragon Joy.

“Just a bit unlucky, barrier one and slow pace and he didn’t find the gap in the straight, but he still ran good,” Mo said.

Markwin won his two previous starts in convincing fashion to bound into Classic Mile contention.

Fast Network ran a close third behind Dragon Joy and Markwin, beaten half a length in his first attempt at 1,600m ahead of the Classic Mile.

Another top hope for the four-year-old feature, Mickley, had excuses when running fifth behind Dragon Joy. The John Size-trained import was unable to secure a clear run for most of the straight under Hugh Bowman.

Dragon Joy wasn’t Yiu’s only winner on Sunday, with the veteran handler also successful with Dragon Air Force in the Class Four Chek Keng Handicap (1,200m) on the dirt.