Able Friend scooped the Hong Kong Horse of the Year award at a glittering ceremony held at the Grand Hyatt this evening (10 July). A four-time Group 1 victor this term, the outstanding galloper was also named Champion Miler and secured 59% of the public vote to claim the Most Popular Horse title.

Trainer John Moore’s brilliant charge was ranked as the best turf miler in the world following his superb victory in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile and G1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m). He then shared the top spot in the LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, released by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) on 9 April. No Hong Kong horse has ever before been rated at the pinnacle of the world rankings. The five-year-old son of Shamardal was rated 125 for his outstanding two and a quarter-length win in the G1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m) on 15 March. He went on to notch a sixth consecutive win of the season in the G1 Champions Mile on 3 May. With such an outstanding record, he joins an elite rank that includes Fairy King Prawn, Electronic Unicorn, Bullish Luck, Good Ba Ba and Ambitious Dragon, all of which claimed the Horse of the Year honour and the Champion Miler title in the same season.

The Paul O’Sullivan-trained Aerovelocity was crowed Champion Sprinter in recognition of his remarkable performance in winning three Group 1 events in three different countries and regions, namely the LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m), Japan’s Takamatsunomiya Kinen (1200m) and Singapore’s KrisFlyer International Sprint (1200m). The Pins gelding also defeated Able Friend when winning the HKG2 Premier Bowl (1200m) this term.

Last year’s Hong Kong Horse of the Year Designs On Rome was named Champion Middle-Distance Horse. The Moore-trained runner scored a hat-trick of wins mid-season, including the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m) last December, the HKG3 Centenary Vase (1800m) in February and the G1 Citibank Hong Kong Gold Cup in March. The son of Holy Roman Emperor then finished a creditable fourth in both the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic (2410m) and the G1 Audemars Piguet QEII Cup (2000m). He ranked joint third in the first edition of the LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings for 2015.

The Champion Stayer title went to the Tony Cruz-trained Helene Super Star, primarily due to his storming run in May’s G1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2400m) that saw off last year’s Champion Stayer Dominant.

Thewizardofoz, a three-year-old Redoute’s Choice gelding, was unveiled as the season’s Champion Griffin. The John Size-trained youngster remained unbeaten after landing an impressive victory on his Hong Kong debut in May. He also won easily in his subsequent two starts, both Class Three events.

Also trained by John Size, Contentment was recognised as the season’s Most Improved Horse. A winner of five races so far this term, the Hussonet gelding rose 49 points to a mark of 101.

Brazilian sensation Joao Moreira emerged as the people’s choice for Most Popular Jockey, accruing 64% of the vote from the enthusiastic Hong Kong racing fans. He also sealed the 2014/2015 Champion Jockey title with four race meetings remaining. With 141 wins so far this season, Moreira has smashed Douglas Whyte’s previous record of 114 wins in a Hong Kong season. The Most Popular Jockey Award winner was also announced this evening.

The season’s Champion Trainer and Champion Jockey awards, as well as the newly established Best Freelance Jockey award, will be presented at Sunday’s Sha Tin season finale.

The recently-retired California Memory, the only two-time winner of the G1 Hong Kong Cup, and Ambitious Dragon, a two-time Hong Kong Horse of the Year, were honoured with Lifetime Achievement Awards in recognition of their great contributions to Hong Kong racing.