Hong Kong’s Good Ba Ba won his fourth Group 1 race in a row for trainer Andreas Schutz when he took the Champions Mile in emphatic style under Olivier Doleuze and declared himself as one of the top contenders for the Horse of the Year honours, after completing his clean sweep of Hong Kong’s major mile events.

The manner of his victory was simply stunning. Settled towards the rear early, the odds on favourite was always travelling supremely well, and with Doleuze sitting motionless at the head of the stretch, it was only a question of when the jockey asked the Hong Kong Champion to go.

When he shook the reins, Good Ba Ba simply found a different gear, and shot clear to win from market rival Armada, under Douglas Whyte, with the gallant veteran Bullish Luck keeping on for third place for Gerald Mosse.

Afterwards an ebullient Doleuze said: ” It’s hard to explain the feeling you get on the back of this horse. I’ve been lucky enough to ride some very good horses in my career, but this one is something special. Winning today I felt that I was going into the history books - he’s now surely the Horse of the Year. He’s one of the best I’ve ever ridden, I’m just lucky to be on his back.”

Andreas Schutz, in only his second season in Hong Kong, was equally delighted. “I was fortunate to get him, and I always thought that he was a Group 1 horse. But I never dreamed that he could make a clean sweep of the major mile races here,” he said.

“We’ve always tried to keep something in the tank with this horse and not do too much with him. He’s best when he’s fresh, and I think he’s getting better and better. Halfway down the stretch he was still on the bridle and I was worried that he’d get there too soon, but then in a couple of strides he was two lengths clear, and it was all over.”

There were no hard luck stories. Douglas Whyte on the runner up said: “The winner was too good for me today while Darren Beadman, fourth on Joyful winner, summed it up succinctly for most when he remarked: “The trouble was my horse found four gears, but the winner found six.”

As for the future, Schutz was more reserved to commit his winner to any of the international races that are on offer in Japan or the USA despite a US$1m bonus in the waiting if he could win the Yasuda Kinen in Japan…and a guaranteed Breeders’ Cup entry.

“We’ll not make any hasty decisions but I’ll discuss plans with my owner John Yuen sometime soon, maybe tomorrow after we celebrate tonight,” the trainer said.

“However I think we are odds on to stay in Hong Kong, and a big price against us going to the Yasuda Kinen or the Breeders’ Cup. If we don’t make this horse completely empty by pushing him too hard, then we can keep him going season after season so why not. He’s enjoying running and winning,” Schutz said.

Good Ba Ba’s career record now stands at 13 wins from 26 starts and, for today, it was enough to savour the victory which added another HK$4.5m to a bankroll that now stands at almost HK$32.5 million for the horse bought at the Hong Kong International Sale.
(Source: HKJC)