The Golden Scenery bags Celebration Cup
HONG KONG - Trainer Tony Cruz claimed the HK$4.2 million (S$696,000) Group 3 Celebration Cup Handicap (1,400m) for the third time in four seasons, when The Golden Scenery produced a career-best performance under jockey Brenton Avdulla at Sha Tin on Sept 22 to win the first Group race of the 2024-25 Hong Kong season.
Settling near the tail of the field before the seven runners bunched approaching the home turn, The Golden Scenery stayed on the rail deep into the straight before cutting between Taj Dragon and last season’s winner Healthy Happy to continue Cruz and Avdulla’s partnership.
A two-time winner in Australia when racing as Dominant King, the Deep Field seven-year-old had twice been placed at Group 3 level in Hong Kong – running third in the Celebration Cup last year – and revelled in the rain-affected conditions to win by half-a-length in 1min 22.74sec to post his sixth Hong Kong victory.
“The Golden Scenery has always been a very honest horse and he’s always good at the start of the season and wins a race. I planned this race for a while and today the give in the ground helped,” Cruz said.
Cruz and Avdulla struck twice last season at Group 1 level with California Spangle and Cruz uses the Australian lightweight whenever possible.
Cruz previously won the Celebration Cup with Buddies (2021) and California Spangle (2022).
On an afternoon when Hong Kong racing celebrated Golden Sixty’s glittering career, apprentice Britney Wong snared her first Hong Kong win with the Douglas Whyte-trained Cheval Valiant’s all-the-way victory in the race named after one of the city’s greatest champions – the Class 4 Golden Sixty Handicap (1,000m).
Wong, 25, is the first Hong Kong-born female jockey to ride a winner in the city since Kei Chiong in July 2017, and is apprenticed to David Hall after spending two years in Australia, where she rode 50 winners.
“It panned out perfect for me, actually. To be fair, this horse has natural gate speed and he loves to lead and be left alone,” said Wong.
“Definitely, the 10lb (allowance) helped a lot today and also the rain. Mr Whyte gave me very clear instructions before the race – just make sure he jumped clean and, if he can get into his own rhythm, he will be happy.
“We did everything right and the result came right. It means a lot to me and, at the same time, it’s a bit unreal because I’ve only ridden two years in Australia and a little bit of time in New Zealand.
“And it’s such a big step-up for me to ride in Hong Kong and also getting my first (Hong Kong) winner in just my third meeting here is really unreal.”
Whyte said Wong’s tactical awareness on Cheval Valiant, a six-year-old gelding by Charm Spirit, was a key factor.
“He’s a good beginner, but he can go too hard sometimes and then he’s vulnerable at the end,” he said.
“Britney did a very good job allowing him not to run away too early. She held him back and, from the 600m, she started to let him go, which I asked her to do, and she put a gap on them.
“I think that was the winning move – they had to then chase her as opposed to her being run down.
“All in all, she held herself together very well under pressure, riding a favourite, beginning as best as she could and riding a very heady race. She was composed and she did a good job.”
Hong Kong racing continues at Happy Valley on Sept 25. HKJC
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