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Alan Aitken

As if winning the Rugby World Cup wasn't enough for them, the South Africans deluged Happy Valley last night to take six of the eight races with David Ferraris leading the charge with four on his best night at the races since arriving in Hong Kong.
Ferraris took the feature Wayfoong Centenary Bowl with Quest For Love, one of two wins for Douglas Whyte, who scored earlier on stablemate Feel-So-Good, while Anthony Delpech (Hurricane Way) and Kevin Shea (Disguise) filled the gaps.
Shea also added a win for Tony Millard on Star Of Fame and Delpech had opened the card by winning for Peter Ng Bik-kuen on Spy King.
Ferraris had trained six winners on a card at South Africa's major Group One day, Champions Day, while his father Ormond trained another on that same card.
'Six Group winners together, which was amazing, but I'm thrilled with this. It's very competitive here,' Ferraris beamed after the final event.
'I'd had three before but four on an eight-race programme is something I'm very proud of,'
The trainer had to wait a few moments before celebrating the third of his winners, Disguise, as a surprising protest was lodged on behalf of Darren Beadman's runner-up, Young Hero.
'Honestly, I don't think I've ever sat through a more frivolous hearing than that,' said Ferraris after leaving the objection early. 'I just told the stewards exactly that, said I had a horse to saddle up in the next race and I left.'
While Ferraris was delighted at the night's proceedings, he was not taking all the credit  as dashing rides were the order of the day from his riders.
'I got some very good rides there tonight, especially Douglas in the last race where he had Quest For Love in the perfect spot after they went 100m and Kevin Shea on Disguise,' he said.
'With Disguise we had an awkward draw so we had to go all the way forward or all the way back and I said to Kevin to try his luck and get forward and he slotted into just exactly the right spot.'
The post script to Whyte's night was not as happy, with the champion rider catching a two-day ban and HK$40,000 fine for his ride on Lucky Cordelia in the Class Five mile.
Off the track, Simon Yim Hin-keung held the spotlight as he announced his retirement from race riding, conceding defeat to the lower-back trouble which has kept him sidelined so far this season.
Yim, 34, took three years to win his first race but became champion apprentice in 1994-95 and 1995-96 and won feature races on champions Indigenous and Helene Star during a career that netted 128 victories.
Yim was out of riding for four years in the aftermath of an ICAC swoop in 1998. He was ultimately cleared but it took some of the best seasons of his career.
'I'm not sure what my future plans will be - at the moment I want to take care of my health and get over this problem with my back then look to the future,' he said. 'I have some great memories from my days riding and made some great friends. I couldn't sleep before making this difficult decision yesterday but I think it is something I have to do.'
Hong Kong's favourite Frenchman, Olivier Doleuze, was finally back in the winner's circle at his 85th ride for the season when The World Of Love scored in the sixth. It was Doleuze's first win since Jade Dragonfly on the final day of last season, July 2, and the jockey had been getting the raspberry from racing fans around the parade yards as his run of woe continued with 18 minor placings before last night.
'I would be lying if I said it didn't hurt a little bit but I took the positive side out of it and it made me try harder to win,' Doleuze said. 'Of course, I knew sooner or later, things would turn around and now I can get on with my season.'



South African winning run continues, led by four of the best from Ferraris