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Andrew Hawkins

Four Group One races and a Group Three abroad, and four of the six international Group Ones at home: the Bauhinia flag flew high in a watershed season at the top level.
Dan Excel's rails-hugging Singapore Airlines International Cup success gave John Moore consecutive victories in the May feature, but for the most part it was the speedsters who dominated, despite a question mark over their strength.

Old warrior Lucky Nine also went back-to-back in Singapore's KrisFlyer Sprint, after adding a second Chairman's Sprint Prize to make it seven Group One wins. He was a short half-head from eight in the Manikato Stakes in Melbourne.
Ricky Yiu Poon-fai's Amber Sky stamped himself as the most exciting sprinter - on a straight track - when he made all in Dubai's Al Quoz Sprint after scoring in the Centenary Sprint Cup.
Moore added his first Dubai win with Sterling City in the Golden Shaheen, with Michael Chang Chun-wai's Rich Tapestry completing the quinella after taking out the Mahab Al Shimaal three weeks earlier.

And yet the sprinters were destroyed in December's Longines Hong Kong Sprint by Japan's Lord Kanaloa. It was the sole blot on what was otherwise a strong day for the home team.
Dominant's Vase triumph - the first local victor in the staying feature since Indigenous in 1998 - was a crowning moment, while a first-up Glorious Days defied the doubters when he continued a superior local record in the Mile.
Akeed Mofeed, now at owner Pan Sutong's stud in Australia, lived up to his price tag as he backed up last season's BMW Hong Kong Derby win with victory in our richest prize, the Hong Kong Cup.
Among the local features, Blazing Speed achieved the Stewards' Cup and Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup double, collecting a HK$2 million bonus for two legs of the Triple Crown, while Gold-Fun was named Champion Miler despite not having a feature mile win to his name this term, his lone Group One win over 1,400m in the Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup.
But the standout was one of the strongest four-year-old crops, starring Moore's newly crowned Horse of the Year Designs On Rome and stablemate Able Friend, along with Chang's Dibayani in a supporting role.

They produced performances worthy of Oscar nominations in the classics - Able Friend too nippy in the Classic Mile, while Designs On Rome had their measure as the trips extended in the Classic Cup and the Derby.
The litmus test came against the older horses, but Designs On Rome proved his mettle to hold off Military Attack in the Audemars Piguet QE II Cup. A week later, Able Friend was beaten by rampant South African Variety Club in the Champions Mile, but was far from disgraced in second.
Designs On Rome's coronation as the next star was complete when he was named Champion Middle Distance Horse and the publicly voted Most Popular Horse as well as Horse of the Year.
The new season looks likely to be another big year for Moore, even without former Horse of the Year Military Attack, who has been moved to Caspar Fownes.

October's Cox Plate looms for Dan Excel, while Designs On Rome and Able Friend are likely to be tested in Dubai after leading the local contingent in December.
Dubai and England are also on Sterling City's agenda, with the owners planning a campaign culminating in the sprinter being Hong Kong's first Royal Ascot runner since 2012 King's Stand Stakes winner Little Bridge.
The switch back to dirt from the artificial Tapeta surface in Dubai is a spanner in the works, though, potentially limiting Hong Kong’s participation after a record contingent of eight horses across five races this season.
One likely to return is Rich Tapestry, with Chang searching for a dirt track. A touted tilt at the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Sprint at Santa Anita has not been ruled out but is unlikely.


Landmark season for Hong Kong horses at home and abroad

Joao Moreira flies the Hong Kong flag after winning Dubai's Al Quoz Sprint on Amber Sky. Photo: AFP

Dan Excel's connections - owner David Boehm, trainer John Moore and jockey Tommy Berry - celebrate his Singapore success. He is now bound for the Cox Plate in Melbourne. Photo: Kenneth Chan

Sterling City edges out compatriot Rich Tapestry in the Dubai Golden Shaheen in March. 

Able Friend and Designs On Rome produced three stirring battles in the classics. 

Designs On Rome proved his class with victory in the Audemars Piguet QE II Cup. 

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