California Memory wins Hong Kong Cup

California Memory galloped to victory in the 2000-metre Hong Kong Cup on Sunday, the richest of four meetings at the $8.7 million Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Kong International Races. Jockey Matthew Chadwick guided the horse to a surprise victory in the Group One contest, edging fellow Hong Kong-based thoroughbred Irian into second place. After the HK$20 million ($2.6 million) race, worth HK$11.4m to the winner, a jubilant Chadwick said: "Winning this is the highlight of my career. It is the best horse I have ever ridden." German horse Zazou finished third while one of the pre-day race favourites, Ambitious Dragon, was placed fourth. It was a disappointing day for another favourite, Cirrus des Aigles, which won one of the top races at Britain's Royal Ascot in October but finished fifth without ever threatening the leading pack. A crowd of around 60,000 packed into a sun-kissed Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong's New Territories to watch some of the world's top thoroughbreds compete in what is one of the richest days on the global racing calendar. The annual event, which features four major races on a turf track, is on a par with America's Triple Crown, the Dubai World Cup, and Ascot. France's Dunaden, which won Australia's biggest horse race, the Melbourne Cup, in November, triumphed in the 2,400-metre Hong Kong Vase. The favourite, ridden by Craig Williams and trained by Mikel Delzangles, came home out front to win the Vase, pipping Hong Kong hopeful Thumbs Up, which finished second. It was the sixth win in 11 years for a French horse in the race. Afterwards Williams said of Dunaden: "He produced so much when I pulled him out, the hairs were standing on the back of my neck some way before the line. I really love this horse." There was a shock in the 1,200-metre Sprint, where Singapore's Rocket Man, the pre-raceday betting favourite and the world's second-top rated speedster, failed to finish in the top four. Lucky Nine, a Hong Kong horse, gave the home fans something to cheer when he won by a nose over Little Bridge and Joy and Fun who finished in a dead heat for second. It was the third win in the Sprint for Brett Prebble, who becomes the most successful jockey in the history of the competition. In the 1,600-metre Hong Kong Mile, nine-year-old horse Able One finished first, with Cityscape and Xtension second and third. It was a double podium delight for Hong Kong champion trainer John Moore who trains both Able One, ridden by 50-year-old Jeff Lloyd, and Xtension. The race was disappointing however for last year's champion, Beauty Flash, and French mare Sahpresa, many people's hot tip, with both horses finishing outside the top four. Horse racing is by far the biggest spectator sport in the southern Chinese city and former British colony, where the Jockey Club has a monopoly on legal betting.