Silent Witness (horse)

Thoroughbred racehorse infobox
horsename = Silent Witness


caption =
sire = El Moxie
grandsire = Conquistador Cielo
dam = Jade Tiara
damsire = Bureaucracy
sex = Gelding
foaled = 1999
country = Australia flagicon|Australia
colour = Bay
breeder = Mr I K Smith
owner = Arthur Antonio da Silva
trainer = Tony Cruz
record = 28: 18-3-2
earnings = $7.9millon
race = Hong Kong Sprint (2003 & 2004)
International Sprint Trial (2003 & 2004)
Sprinters Stakes (2005)
awards = Hong Kong Champion Sprinter (2004 & 2005)
Hong Kong Horse of the Year (2004 & 2005)
World's Champion Sprinter (2003, 2004, 2005)
honours =
updated= january 1 2008

Silent Witness (Chinese: 精英大師) (born 1999) is a racehorse in Hong Kong that won 17 consecutive sprint races. He was born in Australia, trained by Tony Cruz, riden by Felix Coetzee and owned by Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Antonio da Silva.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club made a website for him, making him the first horse with its own website in Hong Kong. The Jockey Club also sells gifts for him. [http://www.hkjc.com/chinese/gift/gift02_regular.asp?cate=events_sw05] On 24 April, 2005, the day Silent Witness won his 17th consecutive race, the Jockey Club gave memorial caps to people, which led to a trampling incident.

Silent Witness is sometimes compared to another Hong Kong champion, Co-Tack, and the American horse Cigar who won 16 consecutive races.

He won the Hong Kong Sprint back-to-back in 2003 and 2004 and also won six other major Group 1 Sprints in 2004 and 2005. After the 17 consecutive wins, Silent Witness attempted the mile race in the Champions Mile on May 2005 at Sha Tin Racecourse. The champion was beaten by Bullish Luck by a short head just two steps before the winning post.

However, Silent Witness tried the second attempt on the mile by going to Tokyo, Japan to participate in the Yasuda Kinen in June. Again, he ran great but was beaten by Asakusa Den'en, a Japanese horse, just a few steps before the winning post.

A mile is the maximum length that he could run. On October 2, 2005, he took part in the Sprinters Stakes, which is a Group 1 Sprint Race in Japan over 1200m. Silent Witness won the race easily by 1-1/4 lengths with a time of 1.07.3 seconds, 0.3 seconds slower than the track record time.

For the three years from 2003 to 2005, the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities in Paris ranked Silent Witness the world's fastest sprinter.

Silent Witness has recently been retired, after his last race on the Sha Tin Racecourse on February 4th, 2007. He is now at Living Legends, the International Home of Rest for Champion Horses located in Woodlands Historic Park, Greenvale, Victoria, Australia [http://www.livinglegends.org.au/legends.html] .

Family Tree

Pedigree
name = Silent Witness
f = El Moxie
b. 1986
m = Jade Tiara
b. 1993
ff = Conquistador Cielo
b. 1979
fm = Raise the Standard
b. 1978
mf = Bureaucracy
br. 1987
mm = Jade-Amanda
ch. 1986
fff = Mr. Prospector
ffm = K.D.Princess
fmf = Hoist the Flag
fmm = Natalma
mff = Lord Ballina
mfm = Tulla Doll
mmf = Grosvenor
mmm = Comptroller
ffff = Raise a Native
fffm = Gold Digger
ffmf = Bold Commander
ffmm = Tammy's Turn
fmff = Tom Rolfe
fmfm = Wavy Navy
fmmf = Native Dancer
fmmm = Almahmoud
mfff = Bletchngly
mffm = Sunset Girl
mfmf = Oncidium
mfmm = Doll
mmff = Sir Tristram
mmfm = My Tricia
mmmf = Sumuggler
mmmm = Shifnal's Pride (FNo.13-a)

References

Aboolcarim, Zoher "The Measure of a Horse," "Time", February 29, 2007:p. 52.

External links

* [http://www.silentwitness.com.hk/english/sw05_index.asp Silent Witness website]
*Zh icon [http://www.hkjc.com/chinese/racing/Horse.asp?HorseNo=C140 HKJC horse profile]
*En icon [http://www.hkjc.com/english/racing/Horse.asp?HorseNo=C140 HKJC horse profile]
* [http://www.pedigreequery.com/silent+witness3 Silent Witness' pedigree and racing stats]
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1587037,00.html TIME magazine article February 8, 2007 on the career and retirement of Silent Witness]