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New Tony Cruz Award for Hong Kong��s leading local rider

25/05/2016

A new accolade will be conferred as part of this year’s Champion Awards ceremonies. The Tony Cruz Award, named for the jurisdiction’s greatest homegrown star, will be presented annually to the leading local rider, whether a freelance jockey or apprentice who accrues the most wins during the season.

Tony Cruz said: “It is an honour to have my name attached to this award. I was in the apprentice school’s first intake back in 1972 and I progressed from that experience to become champion jockey. It provided me with a foundation to go on and ride at the very highest level around the world.

“This new award rewards achievement and I hope it can inspire current and future local riders to stretch themselves to their full potential. Hong Kong is one of the toughest places in the world to ride; some of the best jockeys in the world are based here and we see our local riders rising to that challenge each time they go out and compete.”

Cruz emerged from the Hong Kong Apprentice Jockeys’ School’s first graduating class back in 1973 and went on to establish his position at the sport’s pinnacle. Six times Hong Kong’s Champion Jockey, he notched a Hong Kong career total of 946 wins and also enjoyed major successes in Europe, notably in tandem with the outstanding mare Triptych, before retiring from the saddle in 1996.

The riding great has since enhanced his reputation thanks to an impressive training career, claiming Hong Kong’s Champion Trainer crown in 1999/00 and 2004/05. He has trained some of the jurisdiction’s standout gallopers, horses such as Bullish Luck, California Memory, Blazing Speed, Beauty Flash, Peniaphobia and arguably the greatest Hong Kong horse of all, the sensational Silent Witness.

The annual Champion Awards, presented in partnership with the Association of Hong Kong Racing Journalists, celebrate the achievements of Hong Kong’s horses, jockeys and trainers during a star-studded ceremony. This year’s event will be held on the evening of 8 July. Should the outcome of the Tony Cruz Award be unresolved at the time of the Champions Award ceremony, the presentation will occur during the season’s final race meeting.

Overseas jockeys riding in Hong Kong are contracted to the Hong Kong Jockey Club. Freelance jockey denotes a rider who has graduated from the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Apprentice Jockeys’ School.

 

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