Rapper Dragon voted 
HK Horse of the Year

The late RAPPER DRAGON has claimed the Hong Kong Horse of the Year award, as well as a slew of other honours.

Hong Kong's standout four-year-old made history during the season when he became the first horse to win all three legs of Hong Kong's Four-Year-Old Classic Series.

John Moore's stable star had an outstanding sophomore Hong Kong campaign with four wins from six starts before his sad demise following the Group 1 Champions Mile in May. Rapper Dragon suffered a severe fracture of his pelvis during the race and could not be saved.

The gelding, who raced in the blue-and-red silks of owner Albert Hung, improved sharply after a smart seasonal appearance at December's LONGINES Hong Kong International Race meeting, displaying superiority over his peers in the Hong Kong Classic Mile (1,600m) and Hong Kong Classic Cup (1,800m) and then completing a sweep of Hong Kong's three-race Four-Year-Old Classic Series in the BMW Hong Kong Derby (2,000m).

"This is a really classy animal," said Moore, after the Derby victory.

"I'll call him my champion because he's won me a Derby."

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Rapper Dragon was also named the Champion Middle-distance Horse, based on his brilliant performances in the Hong Kong Classic Cup and the BMW Hong Kong Derby.

The ascendant chestnut then impressed again when taking on a group of proven elders in the Group 2 Chairman's Trophy (1,600m) to land his second Group race win in his career, having won the Group 3 Lion Rock Trophy as a three-year-old during his first season in Hong Kong.

Rapper Dragon also secured 57.5 per cent of the public vote to claim the Most Popular Horse title.

The other awards winners were Beauty Only (Champion Miler), Aerovelocity (Champion Sprinter), Werther (Champion Stayer) and Premiere (Champion Griffin).

The recently-retired champions Able Friend and Aerovelocity were honoured with Lifetime Achievement Awards in recognition of their great contributions to Hong Kong racing.

- HKJC