A six-time champion jockey and two-time champion trainer, Tony Cruz is a legendary figure in Hong Kong racing circles.
Anthony Stephen da (Tony) Cruz was born in Hong Kong on December 24, 1956, the son of Johnny M. da Cruz, a renowned rider from Hong Kong's amateur era. The Cruz family tree traces back to Portuguese naval people who came to Hong Kong from Shanghai. Johnny was born in Shanghai and married a lady from Macau.
Tony’s uncle – his mother’s brother – was also a jockey so Tony had both feet in racing from the outset. He first sat on a racehorse when he was three. He learned to ride when he was eight and, aged 14, was among the first intake of apprentices to the Hong Kong Jockey Club Apprentice Jockeys’ School when that facility opened in 1972.
Tony graduated from the school in 1973 and started his riding career in the 1973/74 season. He gained his first win on December 11, 1974, at Happy Valley and went on to be champion apprentice twice.
He was Hong Kong’s champion jockey five times between the late-1970s and mid-1980s (1978/79, 1980/81, 1982/83, 1983/84 and 1985/86) and enjoyed a rivalry on the track with top Australian Gary Moore that helped fuel the public's enthusiasm. He won the Hong Derby three times during the 1980s aboard Co-Tack (1983), Tea For Two II (1987) and Clear City (1988).
He was offered a contract with leading French trainer Patrick Biancone in the late 1980s and moved his family to France. He rode the great mare Triptych to score back to back victories in Newmarket’s Champion Stakes in 1986 and 1987, along with wins in the 1987 Prix Ganay, Coronation Cup and Phoenix Champion Stakes. He finished third on Triptych in the 1987 renewals of the Eclipse Stakes, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, and was fourth on her in that year’s Japan Cup. They also finished third in the 1988 Eclipse Stakes. Tony was based in France for four years, during which time he rode for many big owners, such as the Aga Khan and Daniel Wildenstein.
He then spent a year in England in 1991, based in Newmarket. He became known as the Cruz Missile and rode for Henry Cecil and Ian Balding among others. He rode a winner for the Queen on a two-year-old filly named Harmonious at Pontefract in August.
He returned to Hong Kong and won a fourth Hong Kong Derby on Makarpura Star in 1995. The following season he was champion jockey for the sixth and last time. He went out on a winner, retiring immediately after his last winning ride on June 1, 1996, aged 39. He had ridden a total of 946 winners, more than any other Hong Kong jockey.
When he retired from riding, he embarked on a career as a trainer that has led to more success. He obtained his Hong King trainer’s licence in 1997 and it did not take him long to make his mark in that sphere, being crowned Hong Kong’s champion trainer for the first time in the 1999/2000 season. He won his second trainers’ title in 2004/05, setting a then-record for a season's winners (91) and earnings (HK$113m) in the process.
The best horse Tony has trained so far is Silent Witness, whom he famously saddled to win 17 consecutive races including back to back wins in the Hong Kong Sprint (2003 & 2004), the Chairman's Sprint Prize (2004 & 2005), the Centenary Sprint Cup (2004 & 2005), plus the Sprinters Stakes and the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup, both in 2005. Silent Witness was voted Hong Kong Horse of the Year in both 2004 and 2005.
Tony trained his third consecutive Hong Kong Horse of the Year in 2006, that being Bullish Luck, whose victories included the 2005 and 2006 Champions Mile, ending Silent Witness’s run of 17 consecutive wins when winning it for the first time. Bullish Luck also won the 2004 Hong Kong Gold Cup, the 2005 Stewards Cup and the 2006 Yasuda Kinen.
His other top horses include Lucky Owners (2003 Hong Kong Mile, 2004 Hong Kong Derby); Beauty Flash (2010 Hong Kong Mile, 2011 Stewards Cup, 2011 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup); California Memory (2011 Hong Kong Gold Cup, 2011 & 2012 Hong Kong Cup, 2013 Champions & Chater Cup); Peniaphobia (2015 Hong Kong Sprint, 2015 & 2017 Centenary Sprint Cup); Blazing Speed (2014 Stewards Cup, 2015 QEII Cup, 2014 & 2016 Champions & Chater Cup); Time Warp (2017 Hong Kong Cup, 2018 Hong Kong Gold Cup); and fan favourite Pakistan Star (2018 QEII Cup, 2018 Champions & Chater Cup).
Other notable Cruz-trained horses to have won big races won include King of Danes (2001 Centenary Sprint Cup), Perfect Partner (2005 Hong Kong Gold Cup), Russian Pearl (2006 Stewards Cup), Helene Mascot (2008 Hong Kong Derby), Egyptian Ra (2009 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup), Helene Super Star (2015 Champions & Chater Cup) and Beauty Only (2016 Hong Kong Mile).
In January 2019, Tony ticked off another milestone at Sha Tin, landing his 1,200th winner as a trainer when Exultant took out the Group Three Centenary Vase.
