HKIR News : International Sale Griffins show their true colours

13 December 2001

On a night when four International Sales Griffins mopped up successive races at Happy Valley, Cheeky brought the total of individual winners from the 2000 Piaget Hong Kong International Sale to seven, showing that last year's HKIS graduates are open to plenty of improvement given a little more time.

"The graduates from the 1999 Piaget International Sale were something of a vintage crop. Eighteen of the 22 juveniles sold that year have won at least once. In terms of average prize-money won, they won well over three times the amount of 1999's PPGs - an average of $496,666 against $154,845 - and they possessed a 16% wins-to-runs ratio compared to 6% for the same year's PPGs. Comparisons between the horses sold in 1999 and 2000 are inevitable, but I am very hopeful that last year's graduates will blossom like those that came from the 1999 sale," said Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, the Jockey Club's Executive Director of Racing.

There are many examples that many of 1999 ISGs only needed time to settle into their Hong Kong careers, and there is no reason to suggest that a similar story is not about to unfold with the 2000 horses.

• Noble Boy is a good example. It took him 17 months and 12 starts to run a place but he has won his last three races and run second on two occasions, accumulating $1.36 million - approaching three times his purchase price of $500,000.
  
  
• Good Friends had just two third-placed runs to his credit this time last year, but having won three times and placed on three further occasions, he now lies in third place with $1.8 million in earnings from the 18 horses sold at the 1999 Piaget International Sale. Only Lucky Six and Good Power have earned more money.
  
  
• Peaceful Century was winless after four starts by the time of last year's Piaget HKIS. However, he has since raked in almost $1.59 million to set him in fourth place in the current rankings.
  
  
• All The Best has won twice in 2001 even though he had just one third-placed effort to show for his efforts in his first year in Hong Kong.
  
  
• Successful Spirit, a half brother to Cheeky, brought his earnings to over $1 million last night at Happy Valley with a second career win in the middle leg of the International Jockeys' Championship over 1800m.
  
  

Performance statistics between two 2000 HKIS (as at Dec 13, 2001)