Douglas Whyte is just one win away from claiming Tony Cruz's all-time Hong Kong record and it could happen early on today's superb 10-race programme courtesy of High Point in the third event.
High Point, trained by Danny Shum Chap-shing, scored twice early in the season but has been out of luck in two recent outings. However, a return from Happy Valley to Sha Tin and the experience Whyte gained from his first ride on the gelding should all add up to another win for the chestnut in the London Handicap (1,200m).
Whyte equalled Tony Cruz's all-time riding record at Happy Valley on Wednesday night, landing a double that took him to 946 wins since his breakthrough here on Fireball in September, 1996. The Durban Demon is now eyeing off an eighth successive premiership, which will also take him into record territory - he currently shares the seven-title honour with Basil Marcus and Gary Moore.
Whyte said yesterday that while he would love to be able to surpass Cruz's record on International Day, when Hong Kong is the focus of the racing world, he's not putting undue pressure on himself to make it happen.
'It would obviously be tremendous to break the record when the world is watching, but I've had so many highs and lows in my career that it's not the be-all and end-all to do it on International Day. I just want to get there and find the next target,' Whyte said.
Looking back, Whyte described his first major win locally aboard London News in the 1997 Queen Elizabeth II Cup as pivotal to his current rewriting of the record books.
