24/4/2024

 

Douglas Whyte hits 200 Hong Kong win mark as trainer

 

By Leo Schlink

 

Entrenched in Hong Kong racing history as a record-breaking jockey, Douglas Whyte reached the 200-win milestone as a trainer at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (24 April) with Majestic Knight¡¦s victory in the Class 2 Korea Racing Authority Trophy Handicap (1000m).

 

Ridden by Hugh Bowman, Majestic Knight (126lb) comfortably accounted for Harmony N Blessed (119lb) and Nervous Witness (134lb) to add further lustre to Whyte¡¦s phenomenal Hong Kong portfolio.

 

Whyte holds the record for the most wins by a jockey ¡V 1,813 ¡V after stringing together 13 successive Hong Kong jockeys¡¦ championships and now, having added 200 as a trainer ¡V trails only Tony Cruz for the most victories in Hong Kong.

 

Cruz rode 946 winners in a glittering career in the saddle and has since accumulated 1,502 as a trainer for a total of 2,448 to be 435 ahead of Whyte¡¦s combined 2,013.

 

¡§There¡¦s a lot of trainers that have achieved a lot more than me, so I¡¦m at the bottom at the moment and stepping my way up. It¡¦s a nice achievement to accomplish and I¡¦ve got a long way to go,¡¨ Whyte, 52, said.

 

¡§He (Majestic Knight) has been a very honest horse, a well-placed horse, he¡¦s crept up in the ratings. He¡¦s just improved incrementally and got better and better,¡¨ Whyte said. ¡§Hugh made the effort to go over to Conghua and trial him - it was probably the icing on the cake when Hugh went over there to trial the horse.

 

¡§He (Majestic Knight) is a horse that gives you a lot and he needs a bit of a freshen up between runs, but this race as planned a long time ago and he¡¦s delivered.¡¨

 

Pierre Ng consolidated his lead atop the Hong Kong trainers¡¦ championship with a timely double to stretch his lead to seven over Francis Lui ¡V 57 to 50.

 

The second-season handler scored with Beauty Waves, who posted a second straight course and distance win in the Class 3 Jeju Handicap (1000m) under Zac Purton before Andrea Atzeni guided I Can to victory in the Class 4 Incheon Handicap (1650m).

 

¡§He (Beauty Waves) was tough. It was a great performance from three-wide all the way with top weight. Hopefully he can improve a little bit more and find one or two more wins for us,¡¨ Ng said.

 

Purton secured a double when High Percentage triumphed in the first section of the Class 4 Busan Handicap (1200m) for Benno Yung, after Michael Chang slotted his 11th winner of the season when Amazing Boy clinched the Class 5 Hallasan Handicap (1800m) under Matthew Chadwick.

 

¡§Class 5, good draw (barrier two) and a good run,¡¨ Chang said. ¡§I thought he would run well.¡¨

 

Harry Bentley was to the fore with a brace after the Englishman, in the midst of his most productive Hong Kong season, scored with Ricky Yiu¡¦s Sweet Diamond, who dictated from the front to score in the Class 5 Yeongcheon Handicap (1200m), before Our Lucky Glory prevailed in the second section of the Class 4 Busan Handicap (1200m) for Chris So.

 

Ellis Wong triumphed on Me Tsui¡¦s Sergeant Pepper in the Class 4 Daegu Handicap (1000m) before Frankie Lor¡¦s Flamingo Trillion closed the card with a tenacious win in the Class 3 Seoul Handicap (1800m) under Derek Leung¡¦s strong riding.

 

Hong Kong racing continues at Sha Tin on Sunday (28 April) with FWD Champions Day and the running of the G1 Chairman¡¦s Sprint Prize (1200m), G1 FWD Champions Mile (1600m) and G1 FWD QEII Cup (2000m).

 

 

Photo 1

Majestic Knight provides Douglas Whyte with another Hong Kong milestone.

 

Photo 2

Harry Bentley celebrates a double.