Caspar Fownes celebrated a fifth trainers’ championship on Sunday at the Sha Tin season finale, taking the title with a fifth victory over Danny Shum Chap-shing.
The title was sealed in the second-to-last meeting of the season, with Fownes holding on to an unassailable lead because Shum will have just five runners in nine races at Happy Valley on Wednesday.
Fownes was relieved and delighted to claim success after a tough fight all season.
“I’m so relieved and so happy. Much love to my family for pushing me to this fight. It’s special. It means a lot to me,” Fownes said.
“It was hammer and tongs the whole way, so it’s been good. I’m looking forward to next season already – that’s how we roll.”
Jerry Chau Chun-lok was also delighted to receive his first Tony Cruz Award for leading home jockey after finishing the season with 48 wins – 10 ahead of nearest rival Vincent Ho Chak-yiu.
“It’s amazing and it’s a dream come true. I’ve been waiting for this for six years; I really appreciate everyone who’s been supporting me. I want to give all the credit to them, and my fiance, he’s helped me a lot and fixed all my problems, so I can focus on the song,” Chau said.
Zac Purton added a ninth jockeys’ title to his record, sitting on 143 winners after scoring three times on Sunday in Double Bingo, Rising Phoenix and Packing Fighter.
Beauty Joy continued to defy expectations when the nine-year-old veteran bounced back to claim Sunday’s Horse Owners Association Grade One Award (1,600m).
The Tony Cruz-trained star has found his form in a big way towards the end of the season, defending his 2025 Group Three Premier (1,800m) title at the start of last.
In a frantic finish that saw Sagacious Life clipped to space in the straight, Hugh Bowman waited patiently to deliver Beauty Joy, finishing with a withering burst of run to top Max Que by three-quarters of a length.
“He’s a really good horse and I’m happy to win on him,” Bowman said.
“I knew I had a lot of horses and the pace was going. I knew he was going to come down for me. Obviously, I had to lower my heel but once I settled on the outside, I had enough time and I was very confident of winning.
“I’ve ridden him a lot. He was the first good horse I rode when I moved to Hong Kong and I’ve ridden him many times and he’s been a very strong horse, not just for me but the whole organization.”
The consistent player will avoid retirement for the foreseeable future, with connections happy to keep him running.
“He will race again next season but maybe not for the whole season. It could be half a season or a quarter of the season, but the owners (Eleanor and Patrick Kwok) are happy for him to continue,” Cruz said.
Outside of the feature, Brett Crawford celebrated with two PI Legend credits and Beauty Missile.
PI Legend won twice with a convincing victory by a short head against Crossborderpegasus in the Grade Three Joy And Fun Handicap (1,200m). Coming off the rail behind favorite Golden Patch, Teetan began to work from the top to overtake the leaders, scoring the first of his two goals which also included Complete Unknown.
Beauty Missile bounced back from the break in the best possible way, taking the Grade Five Miracle Handicap (1,800m) after powering from barrier fourteen with Alexis Badel. Smart Missile sat at the back of the pack, with blazing speed to the front allowing him to finish on top of Dragon Sunrise by an easy three-quarter length.
“He had a bit of a break after his last start and came back really well, we were really pleased with him. I have to say thanks to Alexis; I thought he gave the horse a fantastic run. He’s always shown he has potential – he’s a good-looking horse and hopefully he’s building his confidence now,” Crawford said.
Pierre Ng Pang-chi also enjoyed two runs with Green Angel and Prestige Daima.
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