Witness needs an 'away victory' to cement reputation
Bad weather didn't stop sprint superstar Silent Witness edging closer to racing immortality, notching his 15th consecutive win in the Centenary Sprint Cup (race 425) over his beloved straight 1,000 metres.
Once again, it was all a bit of a procession as he demolished the same rivals with relatively ease. And there's no doubt he could probably go round for another year or two and remain unbeaten locally, as there just isn't anything good enough to beat him.
The likelihood is, there may not be anything good enough overseas to beat him either, but we will not know until he tries.
After all, he is being compared to some racing giants such as Cigar, who managed to win over a variety of distances and tracks including the 1996 Dubai World Cup.
There are a lot of football teams that would remain unbeaten if they only played their games at home as well.
Hopefully, once Silent Witness breaks Cigar's record, which only looks a matter of time, Hong Kong's racing icon can take on some champions on their home ground and prove he has all the qualities of a true champion.
Silent Witness can also equal feat of the great Italian champion Ribot, who was unbeaten in a 16-start career, assuming he wins the $4.5 million Chairman's Sprint Prize (1,200m) at Sha Tin on April 3.
Sixteen straight wins is also the north American record that stands jointly to the credit of 1948 triple crown hero Citation and mid-1990s Cigar.
Meanwhile, highly consistent My Choice gained a deserved victory in the South China Morning Post Cup (race 426) after beating Gem Of India and Lucky Paradise.
There was plenty of merit in the run of Gem Of India, who was first-up after an eight-month lay-off. It shouldn't be long before he is back in the winner's circle.
The improved run of Stay Young (fourth) was highly encouraging and now that he is back in form is one to consider next time round.
Zeonic Frontier showed marked improvement with the blinkers applied when scoring over 1,200m (race 419) on his third start.
There was merit in the performance of fifth-placed Top Scorer ($420), who came from well back on the turn and was hitting the line strongly.
Considering the distance and surface was far from ideal for Celebration, he performed exceptionally well to finish fifth to Expectations over 1,200m on the all-weather surface (race 421).
The steady sections made the run of Chinsola very good, finishing third to Honey Money over the Sha Tin mile (race 427).
He may appreciate a step up in trip and given this was his second consecutive solid performance, he can win in the short term.
There was also marked improvement shown from Devil Moon, who finished third to Best Luck over 1,400m (race 428). He is lightly raced and leaves the impression he will relish a step up in trip.
There was no doubt Friendship would have finished much closer but for being baulked for a run in the concluding stages of the 1,400m contest (race 420). He was travelling very well when turning into the straight, and was never pressured once the gaps did appear very late on.
It was a bitter-sweet victory for connections of Namjong Hero, who scored an impressive victory on debut over the minimum trip at Happy Valley (race 412) last Wednesday.
He bled after the race, but still remains a promising galloper, providing he can stay healthy.
There was virtually no market support for Perseverance ($1,308), who won under a well-judged ride from Jacky Tong Chi-kit.
He was allowed to dictate the pace, but nonetheless stuck to his guns well and is open to more improvement.
ONES TO NOTE:
Top Scorer, Friendship, Devil Moon.
