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…after making all. another Aussie-bred.
video link near foot of right-hand column here:
Thanks for the link. 6 furlongs in just over 57 seconds.
Betting turnover on the race, 86 million sterling.
The favorite of the race was Green Birdie (he overturned Rocket Man in the Singapore Krisflyer albeit on yielding ground) also from HK, he sat midfield but didn’t get a clear run in the straight to finish 7th.
from the SCMP:
It was a sweet victory for Yiu, who has tried many times to bring his star galloper Sacred Kingdom to Japan – only to be thwarted by a hairline fracture to the gelding’s near-fore sesamoid prior to the 2008 Sprinters Stakes, a foot injury in 2009 and the severe bout of colic which almost claimed his life in March.
Ultra Fantasy was also meant to race in the Group One Takamatsunomiya Kinen in March, but also had to abort the trip after the trouble experienced by his stablemate on the tarmac when the pair were being loaded for the flight.
"It feels great, it’s the first time I’ve actually got a horse to race in Japan, and I’m really thrilled that he has shown his best form," Yiu said.
"I have two very good sprinters in my stable, both are very highly rated and I’m sure both would be competitive anywhere in the world. The only problem for Ultra Fantasy is that he has to keep racing Sacred Kingdom at home.
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from the HKJC:
Lai was thrilled as he became the first Hong Kong-born rider to win an international Group 1 race overseas on a Hong Kong-based horse, and Ultra Fantasy was the first runner to win a race of this quality for a "Hong Kong team".
“He’d lost weight when he arrived but the horse has improved day by day here,” said the winning trainer. ”My exercise rider looked after him so well. Today the more I looked at him the more confidence I felt. We got a good draw and that was just what he needed.”
“We asked the jockey tried to keep on the rails and he just did his job perfectly. Thanks for the long-term support from the owner [Mr. Lam Tai-fai],” Yiu added.
Yiu said the horse would run in the Cathay Pacific Jockey Club Sprint before the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint in December. “It would be great to see the rematch of my two great sprinters in November,” Yiu said.
Both Hong Kong Jockey Club Chief Executive Officer, Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, and Executive Director of Racing, William A Nader were delighted with the victory. "It was a fantastic ride from Alex and a fantastic training performance," said Engelbrecht-Bresges, "and it shows yet again that Hong Kong sprinters are world class."
Reflecting on the fact that this was Hong Kong’s fourth major overseas sprint victory in 18 months, Nader was equally enthusiastic: "Ultra Fantasy’s victory in such a prestigious race show the great depth of talent among the Hong Kong-based sprinters. It is a remarkable training performance by Ricky Yiu and his team to win an overseas international Group 1 event with Ultra Fantasy in his first run of the season and only two days after the great comeback success with Sacred Kingdom. "
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