Able Friend scooped the Hong Kong Horse of the Year award.

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 year.

(copyright HKJC)