Background
& History
The youngest of the four championships events,
the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint has quickly become an essential
stop on the itinerary of the world's best sprinters. The total purse will increased to HK$12m (US$1.6m) in 2006.
The Hong Kong Sprint was added to the Hong Kong International Races
roster in 1999 and carried Listed Race status. Even then it was the
richest sprint of its kind. The race was a Gr.3 in 2000, a Gr.2 in 2001
and acquired Gr.1 status in 2002.
What a debut for the race as Fairy King Prawn, one of the most
brilliant horses ever trained in Hong Kong, defied odds of 13 to 1 to
score for trainer Ricky Yiu and jockey Steven King from Crystal
Charm, also based in HK. Well done also to Ricky Yiu, who became
the first Chinese trainer to win one of the Hong Kong International
Races.
It is well worth noting the speed influence of Australian-bred horses
in this race – every one of the six renewals to date have gone to horses
raised in that country and Falvelon, trained in Queensland,
annexed the Sprint both in 2000 and 2001, both times defeating American
speedster Morluc by narrow margins with Damien Oliver in the
saddle. Trained by Dan Bougoure, Falvelon pulled off a significant
betting plunge when he first won the race.
It was then that the local stranglehold commenced. Ridden by Gerald
Mosse, All Thrills Too was always holding fellow HK runner
Firebolt in the 2002 edition to give David Hayes his first
and only success in an international race as a HK trainer.
Silent Witness' reign at the world's leading turf sprinter
kicked off with victory from the very highly regarded South African
champion, National Currency, in 2003. Long before they lined
up, the race had been billed as a two-horse race but even allowing for
losing a shoe at the start, it was Silent Witness, starting at odds
of 1.3 favourite, the shortest in CXHKIR history, who proved a length
too strong.
Victory came a lot easier in 2004 as Silent
Witness won as he pleased with quality opposition burnt off over
200m out with Cape Of Good Hope trailing in second for HK –
the third home-based quinella in six renewals. It was this performance,
his 13th straight win, that made a global star of the Hong Kong champion.
Shortly afterwards Time Magazine listed him as one of the 'People Who
Mattered' in 2004 with an introduction that read: "Yes, he's a
horse. But don't hold that against him."
In 2005, local fans witnessed a rare feat when the first 5 past the post were representatives of Hong Kong. Local trainer Derek Cruz scored his career first Hong Kong International Races with 5 year old Natural Blitz followed by Planet Ruler, Able Prince, Country Music and Cape of Good Hope.
Responded kindly to the care of former Australian trainer David Hall, Absolute Champion destroyed his field by an emphatic margin of 4.25 lengths in the 2006 winning of the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint.
Winners of the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint
| Year |
Horse Name |
Represent Country |
| 1999 |
Fairy King Prawn (AUS) |
HK |
| 2000 |
Falvelon (AUS) |
AUS |
| 2001 |
Falvelon (AUS) |
AUS |
| 2002 |
All Thrills Too (AUS) |
HK |
| 2003 |
Silent Witness (AUS) |
HK |
| 2004 |
Silent Witness (AUS) |
HK |
| 2005 |
Natural Blitz (AUS) |
HK |
| 2006 |
Absolute Champion (AUS) |
HK |
