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The Idol Horse team tackles the biggest events on the world horse racing calendar. Expect to hear interviews from the biggest names in the sport and insight, breaking news and forthright opinion from the Idol Horse team.
Idol Horse Podcast — Full Transcript
Host: Michael Cox
Guest: David Raphael
Michael Cox (00:00.494)
Before social media dominated the world and before racing clips went viral in seconds, before the world watched Hong Kong racing in real time, there was a period at Sha Tin when one sprinter dominated the sport in a way Hong Kong racing had never seen before.
That horse was Silent Witness. He won 17 straight. A horse who stretched beyond his distance, beyond expectations, became a global racing figure. In 2005, when he won the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup, the moment was summed up in one line by David Raphael:
“I’ll never see anything like this again in my life.”
This Sunday at Sha Tin, history looks likely to repeat itself. Another sprinter, Ka Ying Rising, goes to the Centenary Sprint Cup with the chance to equal that same 17-race winning streak. So this felt like the right time to look back at what Silent Witness really was, what made that run so special, and how it looks now with history — and how another great sprinter chasing the same mark sits in his own legacy.
Joining me to talk about it is David Raphael.
“I’ll never see anything like this again in my life. Seventeen straight. How easy was that? Fourteen hundred — not a problem. Straight to the front, rolled at a good speed, and he just went further away. Unbelievable. When is this going to end?”
Excited to be joined today on the Idol Horse Podcast by David Raphael. He was the voice behind the microphone that day when Silent Witness won his 17th straight race. David, thanks for joining us.
David Raphael (01:45.752)
Thanks for having me.
Michael Cox
Yeah, I’m really interested in speaking to you. In that call, you said, “I’ll never see the likes of this again.” And Ka Ying Rising this weekend in Hong Kong, he’ll be able to equal that 17 straight wins. I think you still might be right, though. We still might never be seeing the likes of what we saw again.
Well, he may match the streak, but what was special about Silent Witness and that time in Hong Kong and what he achieved?
David Raphael
Horses didn’t put runs together like he did. There was not a string of wins. When he got to 16, in the call I mentioned Ribot, Citation, Seabiscuit. Well, Seabiscuit had won 16 in a row, but not undefeated. And then the timeline of Ribot and these incredible horses — they were generations before.
It’s happened again since. There’s been horses that have won a string of races together that have been great champions, but he was the first of it, and he was an international icon. The whole country and the whole world — in a time when the world didn’t watch racing as closely or widely as they do — he captured the whole world.
He was a superstar. He was a phenomenon. He was at that level.
Michael Cox
So it’s just before social media. Silent Witness would have broken the internet, right?
David Raphael (03:01.592)
Yeah, yeah. And I think that’s the thing that got him wider coverage, because he was on every paper every day. If you think about an Olympic or a World Cup final, that’s what it got to after he won five or six. He was on every paper, and the team was together.
And I think you’ll find that Silent Witness was the first for the Jockey Club to put a camera in place to look at the owner as they went past the post. We’d see glimpses of it before, but the phenomenon behind him was bigger than the sport — bigger than any sport going around — and it was global, because he made the news around the world.
Michael Cox
Yeah, and I guess that was at a time when Hong Kong racing — tell me about the place of Hong Kong racing, the Hong Kong International Races. He was really Hong Kong’s first iconic horse that reached outside of Hong Kong.
David Raphael
In Hong Kong, people compared what he was doing to the times of River Verdon. And we know that was decades before. And River Verdon was living on a legacy of being the best and winning over the distances that he did, which was incredible.
But what Silent Witness was doing, he was beating horses from other parts of the world in a time when Hong Kong was trying to become this international powerhouse. Fairy King Prawn had been the first only a few years before to go overseas and win in Japan. Indigenous had run second in the Japan Cup.
We were starting to become international, but Silent Witness put himself on the map and he put Hong Kong in a higher place globally.
Michael Cox (04:28.078)
Can we just talk about the horse himself? I do want to get into some comparisons with Ka Ying Rising, but let’s talk about the horse himself and his style and how he won his races and what was captivating about that.
David Raphael
Yeah, he was just pure speed. I think the one thing non-horse people don’t understand about him is he was this huge animal. He only raced under 1,200 pounds twice in his life, and that was at his first two starts. And I think both times he was $2.00, $2.50, and $3.50. It was a price that you could bet on.
And I think when he won first-up, everybody was like, “Ooh.” And then he won second-up, and everybody bet, and he was still around $3.50, $3.60.
And then the juggernaut continued. And when he was at four and five, everybody knew this horse was different because the way he did it — he just ran the gate. He looked big, he looked strong, and he did it with ease. And every time he won, he’d run time and he’d pull up.
He was just extraordinary, the way he moved. And the fact that he was able to contain him to those distances and keep him sound for three seasons, from the horse side of things, that was an extraordinary effort by Tony.
Michael Cox
Well, let’s talk about this Silver Jubilee Cup win. It was 1,400 meters for the first time, just at the time when he stepped up in distance. What was the chat then? Could he do it? The doubts?
David Raphael
Every time he went out, we knew he was unbeatable. There was nothing to beat him. There were some scares on the international days.
But then when he stepped to 1,400, there’s always that little niggling doubt. A week before: he’ll run seven furlongs, no problem. Five days before: well, he’s got to run another furlong. Three days before, the internal anxiety picks up from everybody. And on the day, it’s, “Can he run seven?”
And we all knew he would, but there’s always that doubt. And that’s the thing when you’re watching a great horse. Afterwards, it’s easy to say they’re going to win.
David Raphael (06:29.048)
But in the moment and on the day, there’s always that element of the unknown with the horse. Will he be okay? Will he run the trip? Will he relax? Will they attack him? All those things come into play.
And I think that just added another layer to it. And as we all know, he ran seven furlongs as well as he ran six.
Michael Cox (06:49.55)
Talking to David Raphael on the Idol Horse Podcast, talking about Silent Witness, his legacy, his 17 straight wins. This weekend in Hong Kong in the Centenary Sprint Cup, Ka Ying Rising will be attempting, at very short odds — money back, $1.05 — to equal that record.
You would have seen Ka Ying Rising’s streak and been watching from where you are in Australia. You would have seen him in Australia in The Everest.
I mean, the inevitable comparison is — well, let’s do it anyway. It’s not disrespectful to anyone. You put them on the same track. Let’s go 1,200 meters at Sha Tin. Who wins?
David Raphael
Don’t know. I really don’t know, because it’s not often the two horses line up that will test each other. The clock says maybe Ka Ying Rising beats him, and he does it so easily.
But the thing with Silent Witness is he’d run the times and he’d quicken, whereas Ka Ying Rising has got the sustained speed. There’s a little element of difference.
Ideally, it would be a dead heat, because they’re both amazing horses. Who’s the better animal?
Silent Witness.
Whatever Ka Ying Rising is doing, because we live the moment and you’re a part of it, you always have that memory. And when you compare, I still compare to Silent Witness, because the buzz of Ka Ying Rising for internationals and leading into his Everest — Silent Witness had that for probably a dozen of his runs.
That’s the magnitude of his importance to horse racing and to Hong Kong and the buzz that was around him. And it was in a time of no social media. He was on the front page of every news outlet, every part of the world — even in America. I’ve got a couple of Daily Racing Form papers where he was on the front page of an American sports horse-racing newspaper. Tell me where that happens in this game.
Michael Cox (08:37.761)
He’s also named by Time Magazine as one of their 100 most important people in a year, which just shows how transcendent his fame really was outside of horse racing.
David Raphael
The Time Magazine rating puts it in perspective. The other racehorse that immediately comes to mind is Secretariat. When you’re talking about Secretariat — iconic, well-known — Silent Witness rightfully belongs in that group.
Michael Cox
He really took Hong Kong racing to the world. And after the 17th straight win, the decision was made to step up in distance again to the Champion’s Mile. Tony Cruz says we’re going to go to a mile with this horse and take on a pretty talented stablemate, Bullish Luck.
How does social media react to that decision if it existed then?
David Raphael
Social media would have been like a tennis war. People saying, “Why? You’re being greedy.” Others saying, “That’s too good — you should have done it earlier.” Everybody expressing their opinion.
It would have exploded like any grand final. I don’t think there are many situations where horse racing can be compared to a football final, but that would have been it. For racing, that’s huge.
Michael Cox (10:16.242)
Take us to the day. This was an iconic moment. Bullish Luck beats Silent Witness. Gerald Mosse — great ride. Take us to that day and the drama and reaction.
Michael Cox (12:30.594)
That Champion’s Mile was one of many iconic moments you were part of, providing the English commentary. What’s the call people most talk to you about when they’re Hong Kong racing fans?
Michael Cox (13:27.194)
You were part of a time when world racing felt more underground — insiders staying up late, watching races around the world before the internet linked everything together, before simulcast racing and World Pool became a thing. What do you think about how interconnected world racing is now?
Michael Cox (15:19.394)
Hopefully we hear more of your voice in the future. What have you been up to lately?
Michael Cox (15:55.128)
Beautiful — it really comes through in your voice. Great to hear it on the podcast today. Thanks for joining us, David.
Michael Cox (16:07.736)
Thanks for listening to the Idol Horse Podcast. Make sure you go to [www.idolhorse.com](http://www.idolhorse.com) for all the latest news, analysis, and features on world racing from our world-class team of horse-racing journalists. I’m Michael Cox — tune in next time to the Idol Horse Podcast.