LIKE a guided missile released from a fighter plane, Sonic shot out leaving competitors way behind. The crowd roared as she turned and dove at high speed to land next to his mate on the outstretched arm of his trainer. Cooing incessantly, he repeatedly pecked his waiting mate with love.

That afternoon three weeks ago on a vast open field in what once was the Kemayoran Airport in Jakarta, Sonic once again made his owner, Dodo Abdullah, proud