In an extraordinary coincidence, trainer Paul O’Sullivan and jockey Karis Teetan simultaneously reached the Hong Kong 500-win milestone when the pair combined with five-year-old Bullbars gelding Shadow Runner in the second section of the Class 4 Green Island Handicap (1200m) at Happy Valley on Wednesday night.
Starting their Hong Kong careers almost a decade apart, 62-year-old New Zealander O’Sullivan and 31-year-old Mauritian Teetan combined in perfect synchronicity as Shadow Runner – winless in 17 previous attempts – scrambled to a neck margin over Lucky Archangel.
O’Sullivan, who moved to Hong Kong in 2004, was typically understated on reaching the landmark, marvelling at the unlikely probability of sharing the achievement with Teetan.
“I’m not a mathematician but that would be long odds,” O’Sullivan said of the coincidence.
“It’s a great milestone for both of us, so it’s a great thrill. Hong Kong is a tough place to win a race so it means a lot.
“Onwards and upwards and try and keep adding to it. It really is a milestone.”
An 11-time champion trainer in New Zealand, O’Sullivan’s most significant successes in Hong Kong – and also abroad – materialised through the deeds of champion sprinter Aerovelocity, a multiple Group One winner, and 2007 Hong Kong Derby victor Vital King.
