C'est magnifique! Englishman Gibson proud to lead French triumph

Richard Gibson may be an Englishman, but he stood proudly to the French national anthem after winning the most important race in his 10 years of training, with Doctor Dino in the HK$14 million Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Vase.

Gibson teamed up with a more legitimate Frenchman, the brilliant jockey Olivier Peslier, who joined Gerald Mosse as the most successful jockeys in the history of the International Races, with five wins each.

Gibson was given the appropriate reward for a textbook piece of planning, giving Doctor Dino a break during the height of the summer and bringing him back to be specifically aimed towards some hand-picked majors towards the end of the year.

As it usually does in horse racing, patience paid the appropriate dividends as Doctor Dino ($87.50), having his first start at 2,400 metres, sprinted home too strongly for the Peter Schiergen-trained German visitor Quijano.

The Vase is the Jockey Club's traditional pre-Christmas gift to the Europeans, who specialise at the distance, and so it proved again, with the visitors filling the first seven placings.

The Paul O'Sullivan-trained Ever Bright, handled by Olivier Doleuze, was the first Hong Kong horse home in eighth position, beaten 43/4 lengths. Hawkes Bay (Gerald Mosse) ran 10th, Viva Macau (Darren Beadman) 12th and Vital King was eased down to a walk by Brett Prebble, finishing last of the 13 runners and more than 24 lengths from the winner, He was later found to have 'substantial' blood in his trachea.

Gibson, 37, has been training since 1998 and has had more than 300 winners in Europe and Dubai and one - Doctor Dino - in the Man O'War Stakes (Group 1) at Belmont, New York, on September 8.