Ambitious Dragon (NZ) Crowned Hong Kong Horse of the Year

New Zealand Bloodstock graduates dominated the Hong Kong Racing Awards on the weekend taking home five of the eleven awards, with Ambitious Dragon (NZ) crowned the Hong Kong Horse of the Year.

What Ambitious Dragon (NZ) (Pins x Golden Gamble) has achieved this season is no less than exceptional. Trained by Tony Millard, he started the season with a win over a class 4 1200 metre race in mid October, and has gone on to take seven victories on the turf. His headline wins coming in the HK-1 Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m), HK-1 Hong Kong Derby (2000m) and the International Group 1 QE II Cup (2000m).

Hong Kong Horse of the Year  Ambitious Dragon (NZ). Photo HKJC

This remarkable season has seen him take seven wins on the Hong Kong turf, equalling the record set by Entrapment last season for most victories in a Hong Kong season. His wins also secured him the title of Hong Kong's Most Improved Horse with a rating increase of 68 points, from 57 to a hugely impressive and thoroughly deserved rating of 125.

The awards continued with Ambitious Dragon also awarded the Champion Middle-Distance Horse title as well as emerging the dominant winner of Hong Kong's Most Popular Horse, an award he won in a landslide victory with almost 100,000 votes, while second place went to fellow NZB graduate Beauty Flash (NZ) with a little over 23,000 votes.

Ambitious Dragon has followed in the hoof prints of another champion NZ bred horse, the NZB graduate Vengeance of Rain (Zabeel x Danelagh) who also won the Hong Kong Derby - QE II Cup double in 2005 and was awarded the Hong Kong Champion Middle-Distance Horse. He was later crowned Hong Kong Horse of the Year in 2007. Ambitious Dragon (NZ) and Vengeance of Rain (NZ) are the only two horses in Hong Kong racing history to win the HK-1 Hong Kong Derby - Group 1 QE II Cup double.

Ambitious Dragon's HK-1 and Group 1 wins have continued New Zealand's immaculate record in some of Hong Kong's premier races and has enhanced the New Zealand thoroughbred industry's reputation as a prolific source of derby contenders. New Zealand has produced five of the last eight Hong Kong Derby winners with Ambitious Dragon (2011), Super Satin (2010), Vital King (2007), Vengeance of Rain (2005) and Lucky Owners (2004).

Ambitious Dragon has also taken his Waikato Stud sire Pins to new heights, the sire of 41 stakes winners has been officially crowned the Champion Sire in Hong Kong with over HK$31 million in stakes earnings. New Zealand based sires continue to perform in Hong Kong, with fellow Waikato Stud based sire O'Reilly having taken back-to-back titles in 2007/08 and 2008/09.

Ambitious Dragon was bred by Guy Lowry and was offered by Belvedere Farm at the 2008 Karaka Select Sale. His half-brother by High Chaparral was purchased by the Hong Kong Jockey Club for $420,000 from Belvedere Farm at the 2011 Karaka Premier Sale and will surely be the star attraction at the 2012 Hong Kong Sale.

Hong Kong's Champion Miler Beauty Flash. Photo HKJC

Not to be forgotten, Beauty Flash (NZ) (Golan x Wychwood Rose) has also been a brilliant performer in Hong Kong this season for his trainer Tony Cruz. The winner of Hong Kong's most prestigious mile race, the International Group 1 Hong Kong Mile, he made it back-to-back wins over the distance when winning the HK-1 Steward's Cup, cementing his place as Hong Kong's premier miler.

Further showcasing his talents, Beauty Flash came back in distance to 1400 metres in the HK-1 Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup where he ran a superb 1.21.74 and comfortably registered his third consecutive Group 1 - HK-1 victory.

Beauty Flash was honoured at the Hong Kong Racing Awards when crowned Hong Kong's Champion Miler.

Like Ambitious Dragon, Beauty Flash has continued New Zealand's status as a world leader in the richest mile race in the world. Since the mighty Sunline (NZ) won the Group 1 Hong Kong Mile in 2000, New Zealand has bred and/or sold four individual winners of the race with Beauty Flash (2011), The Duke (2010), Lucky Owners (2003) and Sunline (2000) - a feat unmatched by any other country.

Bred by Windsor Park Stud, Beauty Flash was bought by Hong Kong-based buyer Dan O'Donnell from Halidon Hill at the 2007 Karaka Select Sale for $65,000. He has now won over NZ$5.7 million.

Entries for New Zealand Bloodstock's 2012 National Yearling Sales Series at Karaka are due now. To enter your yearlings please contact NZB on 09 298 0055 or visit http://www.nzb.co.nz/.