By Leo Schlink
Tony Cruz claimed the HK$4.2 million G3 Celebration Cup Handicap (1400m) for the third time in four seasons when The Golden Scenery produced a career-best performance under Brenton Avdulla at Sha Tin on Sunday (22 September) 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 (121lb) stayed on the rail deep into the straight before cutting between Taj Dragon (135lb) and last season’s winner Healthy Happy (129lb) to continue Cruz and Avdulla’s partnership.

A two-time winner in Australia as Dominant King, The Golden Scenery 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 1m 22.74s 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 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 (1000m).

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. Definitely, the 10-pound (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,” Wong said. “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 was a key factor.

“He’s a good beginner, but he can go too hard sometimes and then he’s vulnerable at the end. 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,” Whyte said.

“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.

“I’ve been impressed with that so it was just a matter of time for her to find the right opportunity and ride with confidence, which she did, and she deserved that.”

John Size-trained Wunderbar made a successful return after knee surgery in May, winning the Class 3 Tailorbird Handicap (1200m) under Zac Purton.

“He looked good, didn’t he? It was a good effort after eight months off. He looked like he had a class on them so that’s all we can expect. I think that his record says that he’s going to improve,” Size said. “We’ll have a look and see what’s on for him next. Zac seemed happy as well.”

Turin Starspangled earned a PP Bonus of HK$1.5 million with success in the Class 3 Sunbird Handicap (1600m) under Purton as trainer Pierre Ng indicated a tilt at the HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) on 23 March was a possibility.

“He’s still got a lot to learn, but he needs more racing to get him settled and I hope I can do that. The owner bought him for the Derby, so hopefully I can achieve that,” Ng said.

Formerly trained by Donnacha O’Brien when he raced as Devious, the gelding was placed at Group 2 level over 1429m in Ireland before export to Hong Kong.

Master Mastermind, winner of the Class 4 Swallow Handicap (1400m) for David Hayes and Hugh Bowman, might also head to the Four-Year-Old Classic Series.

“I want to see him go through the grades but I haven’t given up on him for the Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m),” said Hayes, who also won the Class 2 Woodpecker Handicap (1200m) with veteran Harmony N Blessed under Keagan De Melo.

Manfred Man’s progressive three-year-old Patch Of Cosmo extended Luke Ferraris’ fine start to the season with victory in the Class 4 Shrike Handicap (1200m) as Matthew Poon continued a brilliant start to the season, notching his fifth win of the campaign, when Floof broke through at his seventh Hong Kong start for Ricky Yiu, landing the Class 4 Hwamei Handicap (1650, dirt).

Hong Kong International Sale graduate Reliable Profit scored his first win at his 14th start for Danny Shum, landing the Class 5 Magpie Handicap (1650m, dirt) under Hugh Bowman before Sugar Ball became another first-time winner with success for Cody Mo under Derek Leung in the Class 4 Parrot Handicap (1200m).

Hong Kong racing continues at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (25 September) with the start of the DBS x Manulife Million Challenge.