Million-dollar challenge thrown wide open after Fantasy run

Billet Express out of the race for Happy Valley jackpot after finishing last

The Happy Valley Million Challenge will go right down to the wire at next week's midweek meeting after the boom was lowered on star sprinter Billet Express last night by 64-1 winner Fantasy.

Ridden by Olivier Doleuze, the Francis Lui Kin-wai-trained Fantasy stunned punters when he arrived in the final strides to nab Every Time, while Billet Express finished last of the finishers as a warm favourite.

Thus earning no points in the HVMC, Billet Express will finish on 36 points, leaving him three short of contest leader Fruity Fruity and level with Successive Gains, but both have an opportunity to run at next week's fixture and settle the final standings.

Every Time's narrow defeat gave trainer David Ferraris one more reason to decry the hardships in landing South African horses in Hong Kong, something which was clearly on his mind after another of his horses from there, Okeydokey (Shane Dye), had downed the shortest-priced favourite of the night, Captain Happy.

'It's such a shame it's so difficult to bring these horses here because they've gone very well. I've had Noble Silence win three, Every Time is nice sprinter and now Okeydokey has broken through,' Ferraris said. 'But it is so difficult to bring them - because of the quarantine protocols, South African horses take months to get here and have to go via Mauritius and then the United Kingdom. There's talk that the situation could change soon, but the sooner the better.'

Okeydokey sat outside Captain Happy last night, something he had done with Billet Express two runs before but he found Captain Happy somewhat easier to crack. 'He missed the start last time, which is why he didn't fire,' said Dye. 'But tonight he was in the right place and when you think he was second to Billet Express two starts back at this course, he had to have a chance tonight.'