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Designs On Rome takes Hong Kong Horse of the Year honors Designs On Rome scooped the Hong Kong Horse of the Year award at a glittering ceremony held at the Grand Hyatt Friday evening. The Hong Kong Derby and Queen Elizabeth II Cup victor was also named champion middle distance horse and secured 32 percent of the public vote to claim the "Most Popular Horse" title. Trainer John Moore's brilliant charge became only the third Hong Kong Derby winner to go on and win the QEII Cup in the same season when he saw off stellar overseas competition to claim the 2000-meter showcase at the end of April. That win, by a neck from last year's Horse of the Year Military Attack, earned Designs On Rome an international rating of 123 that places him equal sixth in the latest World's Best Racehorse Rankings. Designs On Rome won two legs of the season's Hong Kong Four-Year-Old Series. After running on strongly to finish second to his talented stablemate Able Friend in the first leg, the Hong Kong Classic Mile, the Holy Roman Emperor gelding brushed aside that rival to win both the Hong Kong Classic Cup and the Hong Kong Derby under Tommy Berry. The Champion Awards, held in the Grand Hyatt's Grand Ballroom and broadcast live via Hong Kong's NowTV, marked a new format for the unveiling of Hong Kong's end-of-season champions. In recent times the winners had been revealed at intervals throughout the duration of the season's final race meeting. The Caspar Fownes-trained Lucky Nine was crowed champion sprinter in recognition of his back-to-back wins in both the Chairman's Sprint Prize and Singapore's KrisFlyer International Sprint. The champion stayer title went to the Moore-trained Dominant, primarily due to his storming run in December's Hong Kong Vase that saw off the outstanding British mare The Fugue. Gold-Fun, trained by Richard Gibson, was awarded the champion miler title thanks to a series of sterling efforts that included wins in the Jockey Club Mile and the Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup, as well as second place in the Hong Kong Mile. Bullish Smart, a three-year-old Soldier Hollow gelding, was unveiled as the season's champion griffin. The Tony Cruz-trained Hong Kong International Sale graduate has won three times and placed twice from five starts since his debut in March. Divine Ten was recognized as the season's "Most Improved Horse." The Me Tsui-trained Bauhinia Sprint Trophy winner rose 59 points to the end campaign on a mark of 111. Brazilian sensation Joao Moreira emerged as the people's choice for Most Popular Jockey, accruing 43 percent of the vote from the enthusiastic Hong Kong racing fans. The season's champion trainer, champion jockey and champion apprentice awards will be presented at Sunday's Sha Tin season finale. The public also voted to decide the "Most Admired Overseas Horse" and that accolade went to Lord Kanaloa. The outstanding Japanese sprinter proved his greatness with a second consecutive victory in December's Hong Kong Sprint, a performance that saw him power five lengths clear of a world class field. Pleasure Gains carried off the Hong Kong International Sale bonus to cap a fine season. Trainer Manfred Man saddled the Hong Kong International Sale graduate to four wins and a third place in the Chairman's Trophy. The Champion Awards are decided by a judging panel made up of three members each from The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) and the Association of Hong Kong Racing Journalists (AHKRJ). The HKJC votes are made by Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Executive Director of Racing, William A. Nader and Head of Handicapping and Race Planning, Nigel C. Gray. The three members from the Association of Hong Kong Racing Journalists are Vice-Chairmen Carlos Wu and Timothy Wong, and Committee Member Wong Tang Ping, whose opinions reflect the results of voting made by AHKRJ members. Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
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