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Silent Witness asserts his superiority in Bauhinia Sprint Trophy

Silent Witness first, the rest nowhere. The overwhelming dominance of Hong Kong's leading horse could not have been stamped any clearer through the HK$4.5 million Bauhinia Sprint Trophy (HKGr.1-1000m), the first leg of HK's Champion Sprint Series, today (1 February 2004) at Sha Tin.

Silent Witness was claiming his ninth race from as many starts, and the Australian-bred gelding is now just one step away from equalling the HK record of 10 wins in a row.

Judging by the ease of today's success, it seems inevitable that this record, set over 20 years ago by Co-Tack, will be matched when Silent Witness next starts in the second leg of the Champion Sprint Series, the Centenary Sprint Cup on March 13.

A similar air of inevitability surrounded today's outcome as minimum of odds of 1.05 for a win bet on Silent Witness underline.

And just as National Currency tried ¡V and failed - to burn off the champ in the Gr.1 Hong Kong Sprint in mid-December, Anton Marcus and Firebolt headed the pacesetting Silent Witness with two furlongs to race.

But the complexion of the race changed only fleetingly.

Jockey Felix Coetzee needed only flick the reins a couple of times at Silent Witness to re-establish a clear break in a matter of strides. Forging clear, Coetzee had a time for a leisurely look to his right at the Jockey Club's huge display screen to see exactly how far clear he was.

Skimming past the post in a time of 56.5 seconds, the answer was an easy two and three quarter lengths clear of Firebolt, who clung on by a nose from Cape Of Good Hope in third.

"When he extends, it's like some kind of double overdrive," said Coetzee. "And it's just so easy for him. Amazing horse, just amazing."

Trainer Tony Cruz just doesn't know exactly where limits of his supreme El Moxie gelding lie.

"There was plenty in the tank at the finish there - he's done it with his ears pricked and it seems he's getting better and better," Cruz said.

"Don't forget that he lost a shoe at the jump in the Hong Kong Sprint and he beat some of the best sprinters in the world that day," added Cruz.

"He's so easy to train as well. He's so relaxed, so professional, just true quality. He's got it all."

Breaking the Hong Kong record for consecutive wins would mean a great deal to Cruz, who partnered Co-Tack to that slew of wins all those years ago.

"It would be nice to be a part of history," he said.

About Bauhinia Sprint Trophy

The first leg of the Champion Sprint Series, the Bauhinia Sprint Trophy (Gr. 1-1000m), will take place at Sha Tin on Sunday, 1 February 2004. Designed to identify and reward the outstanding sprinter in Hong Kong, the Champion Sprint Series comprises the Bauhinia Sprint Trophy, the Centenary Sprint Cup (Gr.1-1000m) on 13 March and the Chairman's Sprint Prize (Gr.1-1200m) on 25 April.

The Bauhinia Sprint Trophy was run for the first time in 2000 as a Group 3 event (it has since been elevated to Group 1 status), replacing The Happy Valley Trophy (Gr. 3) as the first leg of the Champion Sprint Series. In addition, each leg of the sprint series has been brought closer together to foster participation from the best sprinters in the territory.

Understanding the difficulty of the task, a bonus of HK$2 million will be paid to the owner of the horse winning all three legs of the Champion Sprint Series and a consolidation prize of HK$800,000 will be paid to the owner of the horse winning any two legs.