The Goal Scorer
FOOTBALL was bought by Jimmy Lindley, a retired jockey turned commentator, and a good friend of trainer T C Cheng.
Joe Mercer rode FOOTBALL which age 3, at all his 5 starts and won 3 of them in England.
He was among the top half dozen riders in the world in that era.
| Country of Origin | : GB | Owner | : Lau Yiu Chu |
| Colour / Sex | : Brown / Gelding | Last Rating | : 76 |
| Import Type | : PP | Sire | : Hotfoot |
| Total Stakes* | : $1,056,136 | Dam | : Born Free |
| No. of 1-2-3-Starts | : 7-2-4-49 | Dam’s Sire | : ALYCIDON |
Jockeys with or without winning:
G Allendorf 3, B Taylor 2, J Mercer 1, E Hide 1
A S Cruz , W Woods, G W Moore, G Hall, K L Tsui , C Lor, K S Ho
Trainers with or without winning:
T C Cheng 4, B Hutchison 2, S T Wong 1, K C LO
Matching Both Sports of the King
1982, The Sensational Derby:
FOOTBALL’s remarkable improvement might be due to the wise choice of booking Joe Mercer for the Derby ride.
Though in low key, it gave an amazing performance urged by the skillful hands and heels of the maestro.
Even Brian Taylor admitted that Mercer had more experience on FOOTBALL thus had the higher chance in Derby.
Therefore, racegoers were lucky enough to enjoy a breath-taking final 100 metres with cheer on FOOTBALL to beat the 5 to 1 favorite GILGIT.
HIGHLIGHTS
| Pla. | Date | RC Track Course | Dist. | Class | Trainer | Jockey | LBW | Finish Time |
| 06 |
28/11/1981 |
ST / “Grass” / “A “ |
1600 |
1&2 |
B Taylor |
2 1/2 |
1.35.60 |
|
| 01 |
16/01/1982 |
ST / “Grass” / “A “ |
1800 |
1&2 |
J Mercer |
1/2 |
1.49.80 |
|
| 01 |
27/02/1982 |
ST / “Grass” / “A “ |
1800 |
1 |
B Taylor |
2 |
1.49.10 |
|
| 01 |
20/11/1983 |
ST / “Grass” / “C “ |
1800 |
1&2 |
B Taylor |
1/2 |
1.48.10 |
|
| 01 |
21/04/1985 |
ST / “Grass” / “A “ |
2000 |
1 |
E Hide |
SH |
2.05.00 |
|
| 01 |
22/10/1986 |
ST / “Grass” / “A “ |
2000 |
2&3 |
S T Wong |
1 |
2.03.00 |
|
| 01 |
28/10/1987 |
HV / “Sand” |
2000 |
3&4 |
B Hutchison |
1-1/2 |
2.12.60 |
|
| 01 |
02/12/1987 |
HV / “Grass” / “A “ |
2230 |
3&4 |
B Hutchison |
1 |
2.23.00 |
|
| 09 |
21/12/1988 |
HV / “Turf” / “A “ |
2230 |
3&4 |
B Hutchison |
6-1/4 |
2.25.70 |
SUMMARY
FOOTBALL was the first Horse of the Year to land the Derby and Gold Cup in the same year.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
1981-1982 HORSE OF THE YEAR
1982-02-27 The Hong Kong Gold Cup
1987-12-02 The Craigengower Cricket Club Challenge Cup
REFERENCE
Successively it defeated GILGIT and SILVER LINING, the two best shots in the George Moore Stable.
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