ABSOLUTE CHAMPION AND

SILENT WITNESS HONOURED

AT HONG KONG 2006/2007

CHAMPION AWARDS

Congratulations to TBNSW members J W Kelly Suffolk Vale & Co and Mr I K Smith of Edinburgh Park Stud on the success of Absolute Champion and Silent Witness at the Hong Kong Jockey Club 2006/2007 Champion Awards on 2 July 2007.

Absolute Champion (Marauding(NZ)-Beauty Belle) (who formally raced in Australia as Genius and Evil) and was bred by J W Kelly Suffolk Vale & Co won the Champion Sprinter Award.

Absolute Champion scored in three of his four races during the 2006/2007 Hong Kong season. He was successful:-

• in the Group 3 HSBC Premier Bowl smashing the 1200 track record which dated back to 1985;

• on International Race Day in the Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint again lowering the 1200 track record; and

• in the Group 1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize.

In his remaining start he finished in second place to Scintillation (AUS) in the Group 1 Centenary Sprint Cup.

Absolute Champion was rated as the world’s leading sprinter by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities on June 10, 2007 with an international rating of 121.

Absolute Champion salutes in the

Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint

(Photo: Martin King Sportpix)

Silent Witness (El Moxie(USA)-Jade Tiara) bred by Mr I K Smith of Edinburgh Park Stud was presented with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his great contribution to Hong Kong racing.

Some of the major achievements of Silent Witness, who was retired in February of this year, include:

• Crowned Horse of the Year in Hong Kong in 2003/2004 and 2004/2005;

• Achieved an International Rating of 123 in December 2004 to become the highest-rated Hong Kong horse in history;

• Named Champion Sprinter in the HK Champion Awards in 2003/2004, 2004/2005 and 2005/2006;

• Voted Most Popular Horse of the Year in the HK Champion Awards in 2003/2004 and 2004/2005;

• Achieved 17 consecutive race successes breaking the record set by American champion Cigar, including the two triumphs in the Cathay Pacific Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint, two clean sweeps of the Champion Sprint Series and a victory in the Sprinters Stakes;

• Time Magazine voted him as one of the "people" who mattered most in the world in 2004.

• The highest prize money earner ever – HK$62,496,296 in Hong Kong racing until 31 March 2007 when Vengeance of Rain broke record

Silent Witness records his 17th

consecutive win in the 2005

Group 2 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup

(Photo: Martin King Sportpix)