On a day when the Jockey Club celebrated its 130th anniversary it seemed appropriate that a horse trained by one of its favourite sons, ridden by its greatest ever jockey and carrying the silks of its greatest ever racehorse, saluted in the feature race - although the winning connections certainly didn't get the usual warm reception a successful favourite commands at Sha Tin.
The presence of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor ensured there were far more jeers than cheers, and even some eggs hurled, from the 74,024-strong crowd after Key Witness - trained by legendary former jockey Tony Cruz and ridden by 13-time champion jockey Douglas Whyte - ended a frustrating run of outs and clinched the Hong Kong Jockey Club 130th Anniversary Cup.
Receiving the winner's trophy were Archie and Betty da Silva, who raced mighty sprinter Silent Witness, and the affable owners seemed unperturbed by the minor commotion surrounding the presentation ceremony.
"I thought it was fitting he was able to win on this day, and it certainly makes for some good public relations for the club to have a horse in those famous black and green colours successful as we celebrate the 130th anniversary," da Silva said.
Out to spoil the goodwill were two pro-democracy protesters, one of whom allegedly threw three eggs at Leung and his party, an egg instead striking a female Jockey Club guest relations officer in the face and causing minor bruising.
Police escorted two protesters from the racecourse after the incident.
"One person threw a number of eggs, and that person was arrested by the police," a club spokesperson said. "Another person with him held up an iPad with a protest statement, and he was allowed to stand there, but the police identified him as a friend of the egg thrower, and after he was questioned by police, they asked him to leave the racecourse."
While many in the crowd were rather vocal in voicing their disapproval of the politicians, much of the noise was drowned out by loud music played through the public announcement speakers, and perhaps the din was also dulled by the fact most would have been happy with the 2.3 top pick saluting.
After winning his way into Class Two with three wins last term, Key Witness had been unlucky in four of his five starts so far this season and remained winless, with Whyte admitting he erred last start on international day: "I hit the front too soon."
This time Whyte made no such mistake on the four-year-old, finding a perfect one-out, one-back spot in the run, peeling out and hitting the front with a furlong to go and cruising to a one and a half length win over Precision King and Let Me Go.
"He won like a horse still on the improve," Whyte said. "He is going to be near triple figures in the ratings now but I think he can handle it. He has shown enough progression mentally and physically to be ready for a step up.
"He has done what he has so far on raw ability. The penny is only just starting to drop and he still has some untapped ability there."
