By Alan Carasso
Rapper Dragon (Aus) (Street Boss), who became the first horse in history to sweep the 4-year-old Triple Crown in Hong Kong prior to his untimely passing in May, was named Horse of the Year for the 2016-2017 season in ceremonies held Friday evening.
Bred in New South Wales by Eduardo Cojuangco and raced by Albert Hung, Rapper Dragon, who was a winner and Group 1-placed at two in Australia while under the care of Gai Waterhouse, had his seasonal debut delayed and was fifth in a Class 1 on International Races day, but would not taste defeat again. With champion and record-setting Joao Moreira at the controls, the sleek chestnut proved far too talented for his peers following the turn of the calendar, rolling home a two-length winner of the Hong Kong Classic Mile (video) in January before setting up his date with destiny by defeating 'TDN Rising Star' Pakistan Star (Ger) (Shamardal) by a handy 1 1/2 lengths in the Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m) the following month (video). The 1.8 (4-5) favorite to add the BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) to his grab, Rapper Dragon raced handy to a moderate pace over rain-affected ground, but his class kicked in through the final 200m and he powered home to best Pakistan Star by just under two lengths (video). He would go on to decision G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile hero Beauty Only (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) in the G2 Chairman's Trophy and was favored for an open Group 1 in the Champions Mile, only to be pulled up abruptly at midway. Rushed to the on-site clinic, Rapper Dragon was diagnosed with a pelvic fracture and could ultimately not be saved. In addition to his horse of the year title–the fifth in a row trained by John Moore–Rapper Dragon was also named champion middle distance horse and, with 57.5% of the vote, the most popular horse.
On the strength of his victory in the international Mile (video), Beauty Only was named champion of that wide-open division, while the now-retired Aerovelocity (NZ) (Pins {Aus}) was crowned champion sprinter, having recorded a second win in three years in the G1 Longines Hong Kong International Sprint (video). Rapper Dragon's stable companion Werther (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}), last season's horse of the year, was forced to miss the international races, but landed the prize as Hong Kong's top stayer with a season-ending success in the G1 Standard Chartered Champions and Chater Cup (2400m) (video) to go along with the G1 Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) (video). Premiere (NZ) (Darci Brahma {NZ}) was named champion griffin, while Able Friend (Aus) (Shamardal), the 2014-2015 horse of the year and also retired late this season, and Aerovelocity were recognized with lifetime achievement awards.
In human categories, trainer John Size was named champion for a ninth time, having established a new record for victories in a season. Moreira's title was his third straight. He enters Sunday's final meeting of the season on a record 169 winners.
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