Champion jockey Douglas Whyte produced a tactical masterpiece to win the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Derby on Fay Fay yesterday then happily yielded the stage to his close friend and Dream Team partner, John Size.
Whyte threw his early pre-race plans out the window and pressed forward from the outside barrier, rolling the dice on being caught with too much to do but winning the gamble on a surprisingly soft lead pace.
The Durban Demon judged it perfectly, putting his adversaries on the back foot by halfway, then taking the race by the scruff of the neck from the top of the straight, as Fay Fay dared a rival to get past him and none could.
'It's great to win a second Derby but I can't express how happy and excited I am to win one for John Size - not only one of my best friends but a mentor and I'm blessed to ride for him,' Whyte said after the neck victory landed one of the biggest Derby punts in memory. Fay Fay's odds tumbled from $120 to $47 as bettors rallied around the best-performed four-year-old of the season.
'John is the most amazing person I've met in racing. He's always stood by me, he's been my backbone. I'm sure he has owners hassling to put other jockeys on when I get beaten on one, but I never hear about it and we have the most amazing working relationship. He means everything to me and I feel honoured to have won this for him.'
Two years ago, Whyte had a choice to make in the Derby between Super Satin for Caspar Fownes and Brave Kid for Size, upon which he had won six straight.