Caspar Fownes Secures Fifth Trainers' Championship at Sha Tin Season Finale

Caspar Fownes celebrated a fifth trainers’ championship on Sunday at the Sha Tin season finale, claiming the title with a lead of five wins over Danny Shum Chap-shing.

The title was sealed at the second last meeting of the season, with Fownes holding an unattainable lead because Shum will only have five runners in the nine races at Happy Valley on Wednesday.

Fownes was both relieved and excited to claim the achievement after a fierce battle throughout the season.

“I’m very relieved and very happy. Lots of love to my family for pushing me for this fight. It’s special. It means a lot to me,” Fownes said.

“It was hammer and tongs the whole way, so it’s been great. I’m looking forward to next season already – that’s how we roll.”

Jerry Chau Chun-lok was also thrilled to receive his first Tony Cruz Award for leading home-grown jockey after finishing the season with 48 winners – 10 clear of nearest rival Vincent Ho Chak-yiu.

“It’s amazing and it’s a dream come true. I’ve been waiting for this for six years; I really appreciate everyone who has been supporting me. I want to give all of the credit to them, and my fiancé, she has helped me a lot and fixed any of my problems, so I can focus on the track,” Chau said.

Zac Purton added a ninth champion jockeys’ title to his record, sitting on 143 winners after scoring a treble on Sunday aboard Double Bingo, Rising Phoenix and Packing Fighter.

Beauty Joy continued to defy expectations when the nine-year-old veteran went back-to-back to secure Sunday’s feature Class One Hong Kong Racehorse Owners Association Trophy (1,600m).

The Tony Cruz-trained galloper has found his form in a big way towards the end of the season, defending his 2025 Group Three Premier Plate (1,800m) crown last start.

In a bustling finish that saw Sagacious Life chopped out for room in the straight, Hugh Bowman waited patiently to produce Beauty Joy, finishing with a withering burst of speed to run over the top of Max Que by three-quarters of a length.

“He’s just a really, really good horse and I’m delighted to win on him,” Bowman said.

“I knew I had plenty of horse and the pace had been on. I knew he was going to let down for me. Obviously, I had to ease over heels but once I balanced up on the outside, I had enough time and I was very confident of winning.

“I’ve ridden him a lot. He was the first good horse that I rode when I moved to Hong Kong and I’ve ridden him many times and he’s been a really solid horse, not only for me but the entire organisation.”

The stable stalwart will avoid retirement for the near future, with connections happy to keep him racing.

“He’ll race again next season but maybe not for the whole season. It might be half a season or a quarter of a season, but the owners [Eleanor and Patrick Kwok] are happy for him to keep going,” Cruz said.

Outside the feature, Brett Crawford celebrated a double courtesy of PI Legend and Beauty Missile.

PI Legend made it a winning double with a gritty victory by a short head over Crossborderpegasus in the Class Three Joy And Fun Handicap (1,200m). Settling one off the rail behind favourite Gold Patch, Teetan got to work at the top of the straight to overtake the leaders, scoring the first leg of his own double which also included Complete Unknown.

Beauty Missile returned from a break in the best possible way, taking out the Class Five Miraculous Handicap (1,800m) after a super steer from barrier fourteen by Alexis Badel. The Smart Missile gelding sat at the back of the pack, with a hot speed up the front allowing him to finish over the top of Dragon Sunrise by an easy one and three-quarter lengths.

“He had a bit of a break after his last start and he bounced back really well, we were very happy with him. I must say credit to Alexis; I thought he gave the horse an incredible run. He’s always shown that he’s got the ability – he’s a beautiful-looking horse and hopefully he’s building his confidence now,” Crawford said.

Pierre Ng Pang-chi also enjoyed a running double with Green Angel and Prestige Always.