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Happy Valley Million Challenge award presentation on Wednesday 6 January 2004
Owners of the three winning horses in the inaugural Happy Valley Million Challenge will be presented with cheques totaling $1m in a ceremony at Wednesday night's Happy Valley race meeting. The Challenge series of races ended on December 17 with Dashing Champion the outright winner, ahead of Fighting Mascot and Splendid Patrol who tied for second place. The cheque presentation will take place after the fifth race on Wednesday. The Stewards of the Hong Kong Jockey Club and the owners of the winning horses will gather at the Paddock parade ring. Footage of special moments from the Challenge races will be played on the Diamond Vision Screen for all to relive the excitement. Jockey Club Chairman Ronald Arculli will first present cheques to Mr Jimmy Liu Chun Shing, owner of Fighting Mascot, and Mr Gordon Fung Ping Chung, one of the owners of Splendid Patrol, who will each receive $175,000. Mr Arculli will then present the Challenge trophy and a cheque for $650,000 to Joseph Choi Yip Leung and Choi Fong Hon Mei, owners of the series winner Dashing Champion. The Happy Valley Million Challenge comprised races at the City course of Class 3 and above between September 1 and December 31. Horses finishing in the first five placings in each race won points according to the following system: first 12 points, second six points, third four points, fourth three points, and fifth two points. The Peter Ng Bik-kuen-trained Dashing Champion scored three wins and a third placing in the contest for a total of 40 points to win first prize. The competition for second and third was so close it was not decided until the end of the final race meeting of the series. Fighting Mascot seized his last chance and won Race 6 that night for trainer David Ferraris, taking his total to 36 points. That was just enough to get a share of the prizemoney cake with Splendid Patrol from the Tony Millard stable. Both runners scored three wins in the Challenge series and under the rules of the contest, they receive equal shares of the bonuses for second and third, which totaled $350,000.
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