1,000-winner milestone for Whyte

HONG KONG – Champion jockey Douglas Whyte (right) has reached another milestone by becoming the first person to ride 1,000 winners in Hong Kong.

The seven-time premiership winner went into Sunday’s Sha Tin meeting four short of the target. After riding the first two winners on the programme, Whyte won Races 8 and 9, celebrating the magic number with victory aboard the Paul O’Sullivan-trained Bejeweled in the Li Cup.

"This has been a goal of mine for quite some time and while I feel very elated to have achieved the 1,000 wins, and to have done so with my wife and children here, it probably hasn’t sunk in yet," Whyte told the South China Morning Post. "It’s been an incredible journey, to think I came here for three months originally and here we are, 11 years later. Wouldn’t in my wildest dreams have believed I could win 1,000 races.

"It has been a hell of a lot of hard work but it wouldn’t have been as enjoyable anywhere else in the world than here."

The Hong Kong Jockey Club made a special framed presentation to Whyte to mark the occasion, with 10 specially commissioned gold coins each representing 100 winners.

HKJC chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges described Whyte as "the perfect athlete who consistently strives for sheer excellence".

"He is non-stop, always striving to be better and even in this pressure-cooker environment, it never gets to him. He is dominating, and it’s not by luck, but by ability and determination."

The former South African thanked Australian trainer John Size who is currently powering towards his fifth premiership in Hong Kong.

"I’ve always said that in life, you can count your real friends on one hand with a couple of fingers missing, but John Size makes that hand," Whyte said.

With two months left of the Hong Kong racing season, Size is currently 17 wins in front of Caspar Fownes while Whyte leads Australian Brett Prebble by 28 with 87 winners so far. – Racing And Sports