Fay Fay Wins Hong Kong's Coveted Derby

Last night's feature race - the HK-1 Hong Kong Derby (2000m) - has seen the outstanding performer Fay Fay (NZ) claim back-to-back victories for Karaka graduates in Hong Kong's most prestigious domestic race.

Jumping from the widest barrier of 14, champion jockey Douglas Whyte took Fay Fay (Falkirk x Glamaine by Centaine) to the front shortly after leaving the barriers and the four-year-old settled one off the leader Bullish Champion for the running.

Travelling well in the straight, Whyte took his time on Fay Fay who was game in the leading pack and asked him to extend in the final 200 metres, holding off a brave finish from the second placed Tucuman to win the coveted Hong Kong Derby by a neck at the post.

Trainer John Size, who has trained in Hong Kong since 2001 and has won six trainers' premierships, was elated with his first Hong Kong Derby victory.

"It's always nice to win a big race and in Hong Kong the big race to win is the Derby," said Size. "Fay Fay won a race very early as a two-year-old, which is probably a bit unusual for a Derby winner.

"Through injury he had more than 12 months off the track through his three-year-old year but that has probably stood him in good stead as I've been able to step him up at his leisure and he made steady progress to the point that he got into the Group 1 races.

"We'll see how the horse is. The Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup is a pretty good idea but the horse might not agree with that. It depends on what sort of condition he's in and how he takes this race."

Karaka graduate Fay Fay wins the Hong Kong Derby. Photo courtesy of HKJC.

Owned by Alexander Wong, his sister Nancy has been involved with Fay Fay from an early stage, having purchased the gelding as a yearling.

"I bought him very cheaply in New Zealand and he has done so much for us," she said. "I'm very proud of the horse. I hoped he would go on to do great things but the Derby is the Derby and you can never expect a horse is going to be a Derby winner, so to win it is something special." 

Fay Fay's win in the Hong Kong Derby has given Karaka graduates back-to-back wins in the race with Hong Kong Horse of the Year and New Zealand Bloodstock graduate Ambitious Dragon (Pins) winning the race last year.

Fay Fay has also extended New Zealand's unparalleled record in the Hong Kong Derby, with New Zealand bred horses winning an incredible six of the last nine runnings. The honours roll includes Ambitious Dragon (NZ) (2011), Super Satin (NZ) (2010), Vital King (NZ) (2007), Vengeance of Rain (NZ) (2005) and Lucky Owners (NZ) (2004).

Bred by Peter Smith, Fay Fay is the third stakes winner for his sire Falkirk who is now second on Hong Kong's Sires' Premiership behind fellow kiwi stallion Pins. Standing at Windsor Park Stud, Falkirk has also sired smart Group 3 winners Durham Town and Jaggard.

Fay Fay was offered by Maara Grange at New Zealand Bloodstock's 2009 Karaka Festival Sale where he was purchased for $13,000. He was later re-offered by Poplar Lodge at the 2009 Ready to Run Sale.

In an outstanding career thus far, Fay Fay has now won six of his 11 starts and placed in a further four, including a nose second to Derby rival Sweet Orange in the HK-1 Classic Mile. His stakes earnings now stand at over $2.2 million.

Capping of a highly successful night for New Zealand thoroughbreds at Sha Tin, the New Zealand bred Thumbs Up (NZ) (Shinko King x Regelle) took the eighth win of his career, his fourth at black-type level, in the HK-3 Premier Plate. In a stellar career, the seven-year-old has also won the HK-1 Classic Mile and ran second in the HK-1 Hong Kong Derby in 2009.

Last night's stakes victories by Fay Fay and Thumbs Up have taken the amount of stakes races won by New Zealand bred horses in Hong Kong this season to 10, double that of the nearest country on five.