By Alan Carasso
Daniel Yeung Ngai's Aerovelocity (NZ) (Pins {Aus}–Exodus {NZ}, by Kaapstad {NZ}), who won Group 1 sprints in Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore in a single racing season in 2014-2015, has been officially retired from racing at the age of eight, according to the Hong Kong Jockey Club website.
Bred by N. E. Schick and S. J. Till, the bay was purchased by Paul O'Sullivan for NZ$120,000 out of the 2010 NZB Premier Yearling Sale and made one victorious appearance at Awapuni in April 2012 before heading off to Hong Kong. Though it took him six Sha Tin starts before he broke through, the oft-feisty gelding capped a five-race skein with a first black-type success in May 2014 and he announced his arrival really and truly on the international stage with a tough-as-nails defeat of Peniaphobia (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) in the 2014 G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint (video).
With that initial top-level success in the bag, Aerovelocity was prepared for Japan's top spring sprint, the G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen at Chukyo Racecourse. Contested over ground listed as 'good' and much easier than was his preference, Aerovelocity looked hopelessly beaten at the 200m, but he refused to go down without a battle and surged late to score by a half-length as the 11-2 fourth favorite (video). He completed a season for the ages at Singapore's Kranji Racecourse, where he validated 3-5 favoritism with a facile 1 1/2-length defeat of top local sprinter Emperor Max (Aus) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) in the G1 KrisFlyer International Sprint (video) and was subsequently named Hong Kong's champion sprinter.
Aerovelocity saw the latter portion of his career curtailed by various physical issues, but he managed to conjure up one more top-class performance, outfinishing rising sprint star Lucky Bubbles (Aus) (Sebring {Aus}) for a second tally in the international sprint last December (video). He was to have his swansong in the G1 Chairman's Sprint Prize May 7, but was scratched on the eve of the race after developing lameness in his right fore.
“He just has an incredible will to win and hates getting beaten,” O'Sullivan told South China Morning Post in May. “We've had a great ride with him and he means so much to the stable. Daniel is such a great owner and it's time to show the horse some much-deserved respect.”
Ridden to all but one of his 12 career wins and in 20 of his 24 Hong Kong runs by Zac Purton, Aerovelocity retires with a record of 25-12-4-3 and earnings of US$5,795,684.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
