Hong Kong horses claimed four of the six International Group One events held at Sha Tin in the 2006/07 season, an unprecedented achievement for the home team.
In total, there were 31 group races in the season, comprising 14 Group Ones, five Group Twos and 12 Group Threes.
David Ferraris-trained Vengeance Of Rain grabbed the Hong Kong Gold Cup (Gr.1-2000M) at Sha Tin in March and followed it later that month with a sensational win in the Dubai Sheema Classic (Int'l G1-2400M) at Nad Al Sheba.
John Moore and Mike Kinane proved a fantastic trainer-jockey combination by collecting a hat trick of Group One races, winning the Audemars Piguet QE II Cup (Int'l G1-2000M) and Hong Kong Champions and Chater Cup (Gr.1-2400M) with Viva Pataca, and snatching the Champions Mile with Able One. In addition, John Moore won the Group One Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup as well as one Group Two and two Group Three races.
The Duke brought trainer Caspar Fownes a first taste of Group One success by winning the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Mile in December.
David Hall, who trained Makybe Diva to win the Melbourne Cup in 2003, experienced his first Group One victory in Hong Kong with Absolute Champion, which kept the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint (Int'l G1-1200M) title at home in succession to the great Silent Witness (2003 & 2004) and Natural Blitz (2005). The same pair also won the Chairman's Sprint Prize (Gr.1-1200M) and the HSBC Premier Bowl (Gr.3-1200M).
Paul O'Sullivan, New Zealand's multiple champion trainer who moved his base here three years ago, also grasped his first Group One title in Hong Kong with Vital King landing the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Derby.
Tony Cruz, a regular group race victor in recent seasons, continued to deliver excellent results by winning the Group One Mercedes-Benz HK Classic Mile as well as two Group Two and one Group Three titles.
Armada, trained by John Size and ridden by Douglas Whyte, collected the Stewards' Cup (Gr.1) and Cathay Pacific International Mile Trial (Gr.2), both over 1600 metres.
Danny Shum was again on the list of big race winners, with one win in Group One and two wins in Group Three adding to the previous successes of his four-year training career.
Former German champion trainer Andreas Schutz joined the party in his first season of career in Hong Kong by snaring the Group Two Chairman's Trophy with Good Ba Ba.
