Hong Kong Sprint
ALL
THRILLS TOO TAKES HONG KONG SPRINT
All Thrills Too drew out decisively in the final
strides Sunday to capture the fourth running of the HK$10-million Hong
Kong Sprint (G1) at Sha Tin Racecourse. Under jockey Gerald Mosse, the
locally-based five-year-old gelding by St Covet prevailed by 1 1/2 lengths
in a time of :56.4.
Firebolt, also locally owned and trained, finished
second under Weichong Marwing. Falvelon, victorious in both the 2000
and 2001 editions of the Hong Kong Sprint, was third this time under
Damien Oliver.
Completing the order in the field of 14 were still
another Hong Kong runner, Thunder, Zipping, Mistegic, Anabatik, Texas
Glitter, Cape Of Good Hope, Shonan Kampf, Agnetha, Believe, Slap Shot
and Continent.
This marked the second time in four runnings that
a Hong Kong horse won the world's richest 1000-metre race. It also matched
the result of the inaugural, 1999 running of the Hong Kong Sprint, when
Fairy King Prawn and Crystal Charm, both of them Hong Kong-based runners,
finished one-two.
Owned by Alan Lam Man Bun and conditioned by David
A. Hayes, All Thrills Too registered his eight career triumph in 19
starts, all of which have come at either Sha Tin or Hong Kong's other
racecourse, Happy Valley.
The Sha Tin crowd made All Thrills Too the 3/1 favourite.
In his priior start, the International Sprint Trial (HKG3) at Sha Tin
on November 24, All Thrills Too had triumphed by a length in a field
of 14 over the same 1000-metre distance.
"I had a dream run, with great cover midfield,"
Mosse said. "(All Thrills Too) is normally a bit keen, but he was
quiet today, almost too quiet at the 400 metres. I was harder at him
earlier than I wanted. But it worked."
Hayes said he was confident, "but that
is a trait of mine. I knew (All Thrills Too) had improved from last
year, just with maturity. He is a big, strong horse, but he has gotten
more solid. This is my biggest thrill in Hong Kong."
About Hong Kong Sprint
HK$10
million (approx. US$1,025,000)
1000m /5f /turf /3yo+
The Hong Kong Sprint was added to the Hong
Kong International Races roster in 1999 and the inaugural running
- a Listed race, and even then richest 1000m dash in the world - was
won by Fairy King Prawn at 13 to 1. Sha Tin hasn't seen a price for
the dual Horse of the Year like that since. The International Cataloguing
Standards Committee upgraded the Sprint to Group 1 status this year
and the prize money was increased to HK$10 million.
Last year, Falvelon, the Australian flying machine, landed a second
successive Hong Kong Sprint by a short head from the American-trained
Morluc.
Prize
Money - HK$10
million plus trophies for the winning owner, trainer and jockey
is divided as below: |
|
Weights
|
Place
|
Prize
(HK$) |
Prize
(US$) |
1st |
5,700,000 |
(approx. 730,000) |
2nd |
2,200,000 |
(approx. 282,000) |
3rd |
1,000,000 |
(approx. 128,000) |
4th |
570,000 |
(approx. 73,000) |
5th |
330,000 |
(approx. 42,000) |
6th |
200,000 |
(approx. 26,000) |
|
|
Northern Hemisphere
|
Horse Description
|
Southern Hemisphere
|
kgs |
lbs |
|
lbs |
kgs |
57 |
126 |
4yo+ c., h. & g.
|
126 |
57 |
55.25 |
122 |
4yo+ f. & m.
|
122 |
55.25 |
57 |
126 |
3yo c.& g.
|
117 |
53 |
55.25 |
122 |
3yo f.
|
113 |
51.25 |
(c - colt; f - filly; g - gelding;
h - horse; m - mare)
|