It is with great regret that the Club announces the death of INDIGENOUS on Sunday, August 8, at Tuen Mun Public Riding School.

Indigenous passed away despite intensive veterinary care, following a recent illness that caused him to collapse.

Examinations and tests are being performed to try and identify the cause of the problem that has not affected any other horse.

Indigenous was one of the greatest and most popular horses in Hong Kong racing history.

Owners Mr & Mrs Pang Yuen-hing imported him from Ireland in 1996/1997 as a Private Purchase and he subsequently raced 62 times, winning on 12 occasions.

His career earnings of HK$45,125,289 spread between Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Great Britain remain the highest ever tally recorded by a Hong Kong-trained horse.

Indigenous, a son of Marju and foaled in 1993, was retired from racing on June 3, 2003.

"Indigenous was one of the classiest, toughest and most reliable horses that we will ever see and he was one of the first horses to really put Hong Kong on the international racing map in a big way. He will be greatly missed at Tuen Mun, where he enjoyed a happy retirement and gave his many visitors great enjoyment as part of the Hong Kong Racing Hall of Fame," said Mr Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, the Hong Kong Jockey Club`s Executive Director of Racing.

Trained for the majority of his career by Ivan Allan, Indigenous won many major races, including the Hong Kong International Vase (Int`l Gr.2) in 1998, the Hong Kong Gold Cup (`98, `99) and the Hong Kong Champions & Chater Cup (`97, `98).

He also finished second in the Japan Cup in 1999, a run that further enhanced the reputation of Hong Kong racing throughout the world.

He figured in the International Classifications on a remarkable five consecutive occasions and his Japan Cup runners-up slot earned him an International Rating of 119, which at the time was the highest ever mark achieved by a Hong Kong horse

Indigenous was Hong Kong`s Horse of the Year in 1998/99 and was also voted the Most Popular Horse in Hong Kong by racing fans. He also won the awards for Champion Middle-Distance Award and the Champion Stayer.