The time was 2:29.90 on a good course.
Hong Kong Derby (HK-I) winner Vengeance of Rain capped a superb 2005 campaign by winning the Hong Kong Champions & Chater Cup (HK-I) Sunday night a Sha Tin.In his first try at 2,400 meters for trainer David Ferraris, the 4-year-old New Zealand-bred gelding by Zabeel was sent off at odds of 2-5. Ridden by Anthony Delpech, Vengeance of Rain rallied from the back of the pack over the final three-eighths to get the advantage. He held off Best Gift by a half-length with front-running Irish-bred Saturn two lengths farther back in third. Nine competed.Vengeance of Rain won his fifth in a row this year, a streak that included the Hong Kong Derby and a superb win in the Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup (HK-I) April 24. Ferraris said afterward that the bay will be rested until December when he'll return for the Hong Kong International Races.Ferraris said Vengeance Of Rain had staked an undeniable claim for Hong Kong's "Horse of the Year" honors over Silent Witness."I'll leave it up to the Jockey Club of course, but Vengeance Of Rain has to have a serious case for Horse of the Year," Ferraris said. "He has won over 1,600 meters, stepped up to take a Derby and a QEII at 2,000 meters, and now he has won over 2,400 meters. That's quite incredible versatility at the highest level. I know Silent Witness is a champion sprinter but when he stepped up to a mile he was beaten."
