John Size added another remarkable layer to an extraordinary career when the 12-time champion trainer saddled his 1,500th Hong Kong winner at Sha Tin on Sunday (19 November), becoming only the second person to achieve the feat behind fellow Australian John Moore.
Marking his entry into one of Hong Kong racing’s most exclusive clubs with a quartet, Size reached the 1,500 win-mark when Raging Blizzard won the Class 4 BOC Life Handicap (1200m) under six-time Hong Kong champion jockey Zac Purton.
One of the most influential figures in Hong Kong racing’s long and decorated history, Size was humbled to reach the colossal figure to sit behind only Moore (1,735 wins) before crowning the achievement with the subsequent wins of Beauty Eternal, Helios Express and Ensued.
“I’m very satisfied with my career in Hong Kong. It’s been very good from the first season when I started here and it’s given me great satisfaction,” Size, 69, said expressing surprise that he had reached such an imposing milestone with his 10,912th starter in Hong Kong.
“No, I didn’t imagine that (reaching 1,500 winners). I thought it was a very tough assignment for me to come here but right from the beginning it seems like I was well suited and I’ve done much better than I could have imagined.”