What a fight for Whyte and Prebble.

This has been one hell of a fight at one stage Prebble looked past the post and then Whyte fought back.

Next Wed at Happy Valley to settle the outcome, all the best Dougie (tu)

One apiece for Hong Kong title pair at Sha Tin

Report: Hong Kong, Sunday

Sha Tin

THE unremitting battle between Douglas Whyte and Brett Prebble for the Hong Kong jockeys' title is mercifully close to a finalresolution.

However, still the identity of the winner could not be called with any degree of certainty after the final Sha Tin meeting of the 2009-10 season on Sunday at a sunbaked track.

The championship protagonists ended honours even on the day with one win apiece from the 11 races staged.

Whyte brought up the century in the first race on Showtime - his 54th winner of the season for championtrainer John Size - and with several attractive mounts remaining it seemed likely that the South African would finally put Prebble's premiership hopes to the sword.

However, Whyte could not find the line on four subsequent favourites for Size - two of those, Sichuan Success and Enhanced, were conspicuous failures at odds-on quotes - while in the interim Prebble hit back with an easy Class 4 triumph on Sounds Excellent for trainer Manfred Man.

And so, as if decreed by fate, their absorbing season-long duel will only be settled at the concluding meeting next Wednesday night at HappyValley with Whyte leading Prebble 100-98.

Sunday's feature race, the Class1 Sha Tin Mile Trophy, went to Chater Way (David Ferraris/Weichong Marwing) who proved half a length too strong for top weight and bright prospect, Young Elite, who was later found to have bled for a second time.

The winner formerly raced as On Our Way when trained by Henry Cecil last year and he was saluting for the second time in 11 starts in his first Hong Kong season. He also placed second in the Group 1 Hong Kong Classic Mile back in January.

The season's last event at Sha Tin, traditionally one of the biggest betting events of the year, went to well-fancied Let Me Fight (John Moore/Darren Beadman), formerly Ask Frank, a winner of a Carlisle maiden by ten lengths this time last year when trained by Alan Swinbank.

Training honours went to Ricky Yiu on the day when his stable star Sacred Kingdomwas named Horse of the Year.

Yiu prepared a treble owing to Romantic City (Zac Purton), Outdoor Pegasus and Lunar Reflections (both for Alex Lai).

Outdoor Pegasus last year raced under the banner of Kavak for Marco Botti and was initially purchased by a client of trainer Sean Woods before being transferred to Yiu.

Betting turnover for amounted to an excellent hold equivalent to just over £100 million on an afternoon when the mercury rose to 33 degrees and relative humidity was well above 80 per cent - very taxing conditions for the horses and riders to say the least.

Prebble needs 3 wins or 2 wins and 3 seconds to beat Dougie, but that's provided Dougie gets nothing, going to be a great last day !

No love lost between those two

Hong Kong jockeys' title goes down to the wire

Preview: Hong Kong, Wednesday 12.15PM BST

Happy Valley

THE curtain comes down on the 2009-10 Hong Kong season with an eight-race card at Happy Valley on Wednesday night which will bring an end to arguably the greatest sporting tussle ever witnessed in the territory.


Seeking his 10th consecutive jockeys' crown, Durban-born Douglas Whyte goes into the final meeting leading his great adversary Brett Prebble by 100 winners to 98. A tie in number is a distinct possibility after a long-running and, at times, bitter tussle.

The difficulty of the Prebble's task is compounded by the fact that should he manage to draw level, the title will be decided by the number of second placings during the season - a score that also favours Whyte 81-79.

Should the pair still be level, the South African will take the championship by virtue of an unassailable break in third-placed finishes. For the record, Whyte also leads Prebble in terms of prize-money won.

Australian Prebble has been by far the most prolific rider at the tight city track during the season and can has seven rides compared to his rival's five mounts. Still, both jockeys look capable of partnering at least a winner or two.

It will be fitting if the 767th and final race of the season is needed to separate the two gladiators whose slugfest will go down as the campaign's defining characteristic.

Given what has gone before, nobody will be surprised if the title goes, quite literally, right down to the wire in the finale.

Australian John Size has an unassailable lead in the HK trainers' premiership and will be winning for the sixth time.

Blanks in the first 2

Dougie will bring Tai Sing Yeh home in the last.

Whyte lifts jockeys' title after thrilling duel

DOUGLAS WHYTE lifted his tenth consecutive Hong Kong jockeys' title at Happy Valley before a packed, sweltering Wednesday night crowd to thwart Brett Prebble, his season-long nemesis.


The battle went down to the last three of the 767 programmed races of the 2009/10 campaign. Whyte, the South African champion, went into the eight-race card two wins in front of his Australian rival with 100 wins to Prebble's 98.

Both had drawn a blank until the fifth event, with Prebble now needing to win the last three races for the championship. This was because count-back rules to second and third placed finishes throughout would decide the destination of the trophy in Whyte's favour.

But when Jumbo Gold - the banker for many of the evening crowd - lost out by a neck to Soaring Dragon (Brett Doyle) in the sixth, for Prebble the game was up. Though he won the last race on the Caspar Fownes-trained Perfect Style and saluted like a champion, it was only for the punters.

Only on June 20, with six meetings left,Whyte found himself nine wins adrift after Prebble had ridden a record-breaking six winners on one card at Happy Valley, before coming back with a vengance .

Champion trainer John Size continued to fire out winners at the next three meetings and his main rider Whyte profited with a five-timer, then with consecutive wins bracketed in fours and threes.

In the interim, Prebble only offered zero reply. This was where the title was won and lost.

"John and I kicked off really slowly this season; the horses were too high in the handicap for him, suspensions for me - things were not firing overall," Whyte reflected.

"It took a while for me to find the rhythm outside, but it came. Also John told me he had some nice horses coming though and not to worry."

From two alone of the Size newcomers, Brave Kid won six races and Entrapment broke the record winning seven in a season.

As regards the title battle, it has been no secret for quite a while in Hong Kong that the Whyte and Prebble rivalry was fierce.

In an interview in his Native Australia, Prebble said to in April prior to winning the Golden Slipper that: "it's 100 per cent right that I am getting up his [Whyte's] nose"

"It'll be great theatre for the last few months. It would be a lovely result for me," he said after leading by a handful of wins at the time.

However, the interview only served to stoke Whyte's desire to win the title, and he said:

"The fact that he [Prebble] didn't say that at home where it could be defended was what pumped me up even more. And even when I was a long way behind last month I always felt I could claw it back. Looking back, it's fantastic. I don't know if I have felt a lot prouder than this in racing. I'm so thrilled."

An awesome achievement. Well done and congratulations to Dougie. Now who is the wealthier, Dougie or Franki?

Good question, I would say Dougie based on just horse racing income but Frankie has other interests?

At this stage it would appear Garrett Gomez is the richest jock on the planet, but still await further inputs.

Plus :Jockey Wilson, Darts multi millionaire ()

Robbie SHAM from property (even at R12/ pound) and AP McCoy
R Curling left a packet behind.

With betfair available - who knows - most trade under an alias - given that betfair trades around a £1m per race, who knows which jockeys lay which fav?