It's time to retire Silent Witness, says Engelbrecht-Bresges
After Silent Witness was beaten for the eighth successive time in Hong Kong since his victory in the Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup in April 2005, Jockey Club chief executive designate Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said the fallen idol should be retired.
The former world champion sprinter was backed down to $29 favourite to win the Chinese Club Challenge Cup at Sha Tin yesterday but, for only the third time in his career, he performed well below par.
"That was disappointing for the crowd," Engelbrecht-Bresges said. "For a horse that was once the hero of Hong Kong, this was sad to see.
"To me, it seems like Silent Witness is no longer enjoying his racing and I personally think it's time for him to retire. I hope his connections will face reality now, and see that Silent Witness is no longer the horse he was, and give him the retirement he deserves."
Trainer Tony Cruz said he expected to find a sore old warrior when he opened the door to Silent Witness' stable today.
"With Silent Witness, he is so honest that when he runs a race like that, you just know something is wrong," Cruz said.
"It looked to me to be a similar run to his failure in the Champions Mile, when he jarred up badly on a hard track. But I'll know more after I inspect him in the morning.
"I guess he's at the crossroads of his career right now. I know there is talk about retiring him but I'll be the one that makes that sort of decision. I'm the one who's been closest to him all along and I know better than anyone else what's best for him."
