South Africa’s Douglas Whyte partnered 13-10 favourite Ambitious Dragon to victory in the HK$14-million ($1.8m) Audemars Piguet QE II Cup at Sha Tin yesterday.
The Hong Kong Derby winner came with a late flourish to deny California Memory and Mighty High for his seventh win of the season – a Hong Kong record.
Whyte’s victory broke a 13-year drought after he won the race twice in the late nineties, first on London News and then Oriental Express.
Originally named the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, the race was first run on dirt over 1,575m in 1975 to commemorate a visit to Hong Kong by Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip.