Dragon sets Derby alight on a day of high drama

Not even an earthquake yesterday could stop the brilliant favourite Ambitious Dragon from a stunning victory at Sha Tin on a Mercedes-Benz Derby day of high drama.

The 14 Derby runners were parading in the paddock when the 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck the northern Philippines, and while it could be felt at the Sha Tin track, most racegoers appeared not to notice it.

They were too intent on studying the classic four-year-olds for the HK$16 million Group One race, which had already been shaken three hours earlier with an injury to top jockey Darren Beadman that had trainer John Moore scrambling for a late replacement on his top Derby fancy, Xtension.

Ming Hoi Treasure, Beadman's first ride of the day, was in the barriers for race two when a horse in the stall next door having its first race went berserk and in turn sent Ming Hoi Treasure into a panic.

'He tried to jump out of the gate then and kept banging against the inside of it and jammed my leg against the steel frame,' Beadman said later, with his leg encased in ice in an effort to be back riding for the Dubai World Cup meeting this week.

Three horses were withdrawn from the race, including Ming Hoi Treasure, Beadman was unfit to continue and HK$7 million worth of Jockey Challenge betting was cancelled under the rules as the Australian had been an odds-on favourite to win.

South African Jeff Lloyd, on his first day back from a month's suspension, was enlisted to ride Xtension and gave him a perfect ride to finish second but the Derby proved to be one of those rare races without a hard-luck story.