The battle for 2014/2015 Hong Kong Horse of the Year
came down to a photo finish between Able Friend (Shamardal), who
dominated the local mile division with victories in the Hong
Kong Mile (HK-G1) and Champions Mile (HK-G1), and Aerovelocity (Pins), who
not only returned the Hong Kong Sprint (HK-G1) to the host
jurisdiction but also added Group 1s on international soil in the
Takamatsunomiya Kinen in Japan in late March and KrisFlyer International Sprint
in Singapore in May.
At the end of the day, it was Able Friend, Hong
Kong’s version of Big Red, who took down the top honors, with both horses
set to fly the flag for Hong Kong in the 2015/2016 season, which kicks off
in early September.
Trained by John Moore, who has locked up a seventh
premiership, and ridden in seven of his eight starts by champion and popular jockey Joao Moreira,
Able Friend dropped his return to the races in a rare meeting with
Aerovelocity, but would not taste defeat again in Hong Kong, posting six straight
tallies and additional top-level successes in the Stewards’ Cup and the
1400-meter Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup.
Able Friend failed to reproduce
his best form in the Queen Anne S. (Eng-G1) at Royal Ascot last month,
prompting owner Dr. Cornel Li to remark that he didn’t expect to win any
awards, but voters and fans alike were able to see past that disappointment. In addition to Horse of the Year, Able Friend was also named champion
miler and most popular horse.
It was a more ambitious campaign for Aerovelocity, who
became the first Hong Kong runner to win Group 1 races in three
countries to take down champion sprinter honors.
With the lack of a suitable
race in Dubai, the six-year-old was shipped across to Chukyo for the Takamatsunomiya Kinen and overcame ground easier than he likes for a half-length
success. In his final start of the season, the Paul O’Sullivan trainee
ventured to Singapore for the KrisFlyer and provided Hong Kong with a
third straight running of that race, defeating two-time defending champion
Lucky Nine (Dubawi) into third as the 3-5 favorite.
Designs on Rome (Holy Roman Emperor) gave
the Moore stable a second winner on the evening, as the five-year-old
was named champion middle-distance horse.
Partnered in all but one of
his starts this season by Moreira, the bay put it all together on
international races day, defeating one-time barnmate Military Attack
(Oratorio) by a short head in the Hong Kong Cup
(HK-G1) before besting Helene Super Star (War Front) in the Hong Kong Gold Cup
(HK-G1) two starts later.
The latter, raced in Europe as Lines of Battle, was
crowned champion stayer on the strength of his victory in the Champions and Chater Cup
(HK-G1) on May 31.
In other categories, Thewizardofoz (Redoute’s
Choice) was named champion griffin (new horse) with a trio of facile
victories from as many starts and Contentment (Hussonet) won five of
eight starts to go from a rating of 52 to a current 95 and was named
most improved horse.
Two legends of the Hong Kong turf who were recently
retired — Ambitious Dragon (Pins) and California Memory (Highest
Honor) — were recognized with lifetime achievement awards.
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