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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)

 

 

 

 

 

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