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Your Witness - speed demon does HK proud as the world watches

'We have felt all of Hong Kong behind us,' says tearful owner

Sensational Silent Witness reached into the unplumbed depths of his talent and tore the Hong Kong Sprint out of National Currency's huge heart at Sha Tin yesterday, as the world's greatest short-course horse race delivered everything it promised and announced the arrival of a new king.

The Tony Cruz-trained Silent Witness emerged as the undisputed world turf sprint champion when jockey Felix Coetzee dug another gear from him inside the final 300 metres and disposed of the race with the same ruthlessness that has characterised his eight unblemished career starts.

The powerful gelding will now set out to erase the legendary Co-Tack from the Hong Kong history books before taking on the world's next best in their own backyards.

Cruz said. 'I rode a lot of champion stayers as a jockey but this is really the first champion sprinter I've been associated with. Co-Tack did everything here in the days before there were international races. He won with huge weights and won very easily - I had to hold him down to a trot or he would have won by 10 or 20 lengths. I won 10 straight on him and now I want to win 11 straight with Silent Witness as a trainer before we think about what's overseas.'

Tearful owner Archie da Silva was overcome with emotion in the moments after the post, letting free the pent up expectation and tension as friends and well-wishers surrounded him and his wife, co-owner Betty.

'We are so proud of this horse,' Da Silva declared. 'We've come here today and seen people waving flags in our colours, people who painted their faces with our colours. We have felt all of Hong Kong behind us this week and we are so proud to win this for Hong Kong. I had doubts at the 400m, but when Felix went for him and the horse started to come, I said 'that's it! It's in the bag!''

The war of words that preceded yesterday's showdown between Silent Witness and South African champion National Currency was melted down to a warm exchange of praise in the crucible of a horse race that delivered everything that it had promised.

National Currency's trainer, Michael Azzie, and Da Silva shook hands with Azzie announcing that he had seen something 'special'.

'We had him at the 400 metres, we had him off the bit. But Silent Witness is just a fantastic specimen. He had to lift and he did and that is the mark of a real champion,' Azzie said, and Da Silva was giving credit where it was due, too.

'I want to say National Currency is no slouch. They should be very proud of the horse - he even gave me a scare,' Da Silva declared.

The world's richest 1,000 metre race boiled down to just two horses, and they set to each other soon after barrier rise with National Currency leaping to the lead.

'Felix said to us that Silent Witness has a very high cruising speed, so he would just ride his own race and use that. He said the South African horse was very fast and if he wanted to go out hard, he was going to just ride his own race and let him go,' Da Silva said. 'He said when he was ready, he would let Silent Witness go and it would take something to hold him out.'

Azzie said he would have preferred to find a leader in the race, but had no complaints. 'I spoke to Basil Marcus and he said that it was a tough race to lead but no complaints - National Currency has run a hell of a race and the horse that beat us is extraordinary,' he said.

Da Silva said the future programme of Silent Witness would be aimed first at breaking Co-Tack's record, by racking up the Champion Sprint series in the new year.

'I want to win the three Group One sprints here in Hong Kong first, and if we do that, Co-Tack's record will be broken,' Da Silva said. 'It isn't out of the question we could go to Ascot for the King's Stand Stakes in June.

'Eventually, we expect he's going to run 1,400 metres and even 1,600 but for now we don't want to upset the rhythm of the horse by putting him over longer.'

Chief handicapper Ciaran Kennelly said he expected the international handicappers' conference this week to confirm Silent Witness officially as the best sprinter on the planet. 'I think he will go from 118 to at least an international mark of 120, possibly even higher.'

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