Spanish silks strike gold as Fownes, Shum trade blows at the Valley

Spain won the World Cup at Happy Valley on Wednesday night – or at least that's what the omen-watchers will tell you after Forza Toro carried the red and gold to an all-the-way victory in the "Eight to Glory, presented by Lenovo," the Jockey Club's audacious football-meets-racing experiment.

But the real fight was in the trainers' championship, and Caspar Fownes made sure everyone knew it. When Dancing Classes won Race 7 to halt a Danny Shum Chap-shing counterattack, Fownes let rip with a raucous celebration, roaring: "You wanted a fight, I'll give you a fight!"

The Forza Toro victory was the middle leg of a Fownes-Joao Moreira treble, and there was a twist in the special race too. The Brazilian jockey had dreamed of wearing the yellow and green of his beloved Selecao, only for Norway to dump Brazil out of the tournament in the round of 16. Instead, Moreira dressed for Spain – and delivered a performance La Roja would be proud of, bouncing the Fownes-trained gelding straight to the front from gate one and never seeing another rival.

Podium, in Norway's colors under Matthew Poon, chased home the winner, with Alexis Badel third in the blue of his native France aboard Precision Hope.

Fownes had entered the night leading Shum 66-61 in his pursuit of a fifth title, and after Jumbo Blessing (Race 3) and Forza Toro made it seven clear, the championship looked all but done. But Shum hit back through The Perfect Match under Jerry Chau and Zac Purton aboard Leading Agility – before Dancing Classics restored a six-win buffer and prompted that Fownes eruption. There are 20 races remaining in the season and the title fight rolls on through Sha Tin on Sunday and then to the season finale on July 15 – fittingly, at Fownes' beloved Happy Valley.

“Eight To Glory”, run as a full betting contest with the result counting to official records, saw the eight jockeys presented to the crowd pre-race, carrying footballs into the parade ring in specially designed silks inspired by the national jerseys of the World Cup's final eight.

Former Manchester United and Bulgaria great Dimitar Berbatov watched alongside Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges – the latest football royalty at the city track after David Beckham and Thierry Henry headlined earlier nights of the club's "Racing with Football" series.

Engelbrecht-Bresges embraced the Paul the Octopus comparison after Spain's "win" – a nod to the eight-legged oracle who famously picked results at the 2010 World Cup.

"Maybe, like the octopus who predicted the World Cup winner, maybe we have, in a way, a prediction of the World Cup winner now," he said. "Horse racing is entertainment and fun, and the combination with football is a match made in heaven."

The German promised the concept would not be the last of its kind: "We had racing with rugby, we have racing with football, and there are many other sports because, in the end, the fan base is similar. You will see more innovation."

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓