Reflections on Audemars Piquet QE II Cup Day

by Liesl King
    There are three things that I have learnt today. One, yellow is definitely not my colour; two, wearing a plastic photographer’s jacket in the tropics is not recommended and three, Designs On Rome (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) andMilitary Attack (Ire) (Oratorio {Ire}) are seriously good horses! 
After a week of rain and drizzle, Sunday dawned bright and clear. The hotel pool, surrounded by waving palms, looked extremely inviting, but of course it is the Audemars Piquet QE II Cup today and the pool will simply have to wait. The welcome sunshine is superb for photos, especially winning ones, but what many of us foreign photographers had not bargained on is the extreme humidity that comes with the sunshine. In yellow plastic vests, we barely made it past the first race, before some shade and ice cream became an absolute necessity. Fortunately, good racing makes one forget that you are starting to look like a drowned rat, albeit a yellow one and from the first to the last this was superb, competitive racing. 
Rules here are extremely strict and jockeys get given extended holidays for the slightest infringement. Yet the racing is tight, unforgiving and exhilarating, with a liberal sprinkling of showmanship. Karis Teetan in his first season in Hong Kong is a master at showmanship and the likeable Mauritian, who practised his skills in South Africa, got the day off to a great start. A commanding victory in the first saw him returning with both arms thrown heavenwards, much to the delight of the crowd. 
And it only got better from there. Teetan picked up another victory from a chance ride, as did another South African, Anthony Delpech, when he successfully partnered Admiral Lord (Ger) (Lord Of England {Ger}) to victory for trainer Andreas Schutz. Delpech is a more reserved rider and hence he left the celebrations to fellow countryman and 13-time Hong Kong champion jockey Douglas Whyte, who certainly knows how to do it in style. Whyte is a magician on horseback and he timed his charge on Charles the Great (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) in the G2 The Sprint Cup to absolute perfection. From a long way out the race belonged to champion sprinter Lucky Nine (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}). Brett Pebble appeared to have the race under control, the chasing pack producing no obvious challengers, but unbeknownst to him, Whyte was patiently waiting to pounce. 
With a skill honed through years of practise, Whyte waited until the very last moment before sending Charles the Great in pursuit. It took a mere two strides to make up the deficit and another three to cross the line in first. A sterling performance by any standards. Whyte celebrated Hong Kong style, standing in the stirrups and waving to the crowd as they roared back their appreciation. 
On a slightly more serious note, his victory meant it was now Cup time. The field jumped in front of the massive grandstand to the noisy approval of the 30,000 odd spectators. On paper, it seemed a close contest between the local superstars and the international raiders. But the Hong Kong horses are never easy to beat in their own back yard, as Vercingetorix (Saf) (Silvano {Ger}), who finished in third two lengths back and Epiphaneia (Jpn) (Symboli Kris S.) a further two lengths back in fourth discovered. 
As up front, in a race all of their own, an epic battle of titanic proportions was being fought. Military Attack and Designs On Rome side by side, with neither giving an inch from a long way out. Stride for stride they duelled, matching each in perfect symmetry, neither prepared to concede an inch. But there can only ever be one victor in such a battle and on the line, it was the bay nose of Designs Of Rome, which flashed past the camera in first. Winning jockey, Tommy Berry, who has been through the toughest time of his life, saluted first the heavens and then the crowd. This win was as much for Nathan as it was for them. The rest of the field was certainly not disgraced, in what was arguably one of the toughest Audemars Piguet QE II Cup races in recent times and all will return to fight another day. Racing and the sunshine waits for no one and tomorrow we start all over again. A new contest, a new group of superstars, jockeys and horses, the Champions Mile awaits.