Wrap-up: Beaten but unbowed, Silent Witness does Hong Kong proud

Hong Kong representative Silent Witness (No.12) battles on well under Felix Coetzee to snatch a creditable third, a head behind runner-up Sweep Tosho (No. 11) in the 1600-metre Yasuda Kinen at Tokyo Racecourse today. Asakusa Den'en (No.7) wins the race in 1:32.3.

Brave in defeat, the Tony Cruz-trained duo of Silent Witness and Bullish Luck finished third and fourth respectively behind Asakusa Den'en in today's US$2 million Yasuda Kinen, the second leg of the Asian Mile Challenge, in Tokyo. Bowman's Crossing, also from Hong Kong, finished 13th.

Before a crowd of over 75,000 at Fuchu Racecourse, Silent Witness in particular displayed rare courage in what was the second fastest renewal of the prestigious Gr.1 mile event in 20 years.

The world's top-ranked turf sprinter was the only on-pace runner still in with a chance inside the final furlong and was only headed close home by Asakusa Den'en, who swooped for a neck success from the late finishing Sweep Tosho with Silent Witness a short head back in third.

"He ran a crackerjack race. He was very brave, he fought all the way and I'm very proud of him. Hong Kong can be very proud of that run too," said Silent Witness' ebullient owner, Archie da Silva, adding: "He will have a nice long break now and he will be back to sprints next season."

Jockey Felix Coetzee was also very pleased with the performance of the sprint champion. He said: "Silent Witness broke very well as usual but I could have done with a more company early on as there was only Lohengrin taking me along. I was hoping to only press the button about 250m out but when the leader fell away at the 400m they all rushed up at me and I had to go too. But he battled very bravely and gave me everything."

Silent Witness ran a short-head second to Bullish Luck in the first leg of the Asian Mile Challenge, the Champions Mile, at Sha Tin on May 14.

"That was a better run than the one a few weeks ago considering all the travelling and that this is a much tougher mile test," the jockey added.

Cruz said Bullish Luck was not aided by a surface that was not as fast as what the six-year-old usually experiences in Hong Kong.

"Gerald [Mosse, jockey] said the surface was loose and that Bullish Luck wasn't that comfortable on it. He has done very well to finish as close as he did," the trainer remarked of his gelding, beaten just under two lengths by the winner.

Bowman's Crossing was not far behind but never looked likely to take a hand in the finish.

"He was under pressure from the off and I had to ride him along to stay in touch down the back straight. He tended to lay in on me in the home straight then. I guess he found it a bit too sharp for him," said jockey Anthony Delpech.

The victorious Asakusa Den'en, a 12/1 chance, took Japan's principal Yasuda Kinen trial, the Keio Hai Spring Cup (JpnGr.2) in track record time for 1400m on May 15.

Mr Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, the Hong Kong Jockey Club's Executive Director of Racing, hailed the performances of the Hong Kong runners at end of a long season and added: "I think we have had a very