The Hong Kong International Sale (HKIS) is one of the highlights of the Hong Kong racing season and as we reflect on the outstanding deeds of BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) winner and 2021 HKIS graduate Romantic Warrior, I am excited by the potential on offer at this year’s sale.
With 17 exceptionally-bred and well-educated horses to go under the hammer in Sha Tin’s Parade Ring this Saturday (9 July) from 10:30am, interest will be high as the search continues for Hong Kong’s next champion.
The purpose of the HKIS is to provide the best service to owners with the aim of raising the quality of the horse pool in Hong Kong.
By acquiring horses from both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres by sires proven in Hong Kong such as Deep Field, Snitzel, Exceed And Excel, I Am Invincible, Starspangledbanner, Fastnet Rock and Savabeel – and others – and then subjecting them to rigorous preparation in for competition in Hong Kong, we believe we are providing owners with a wonderful opportunity to invest in Hong Kong racing.
After being hand selected from the world’s leading sales by renowned bloodstock judges such as former Irish champion jockey Michael Kinane, who identified Romantic Warrior, and Craig Rounsefell, all of these horses have been expertly educated by Group 1-winning trainer Brian Meehan in the UK and renowned equestrian Tim Boland in Australia.
Throughout this process, the Club has been extremely careful in selecting horses suitable for Hong Kong and, from an original pool of about 30 horses, the Club is offering only those horses who have continued to make good progress.
Critically, all horses have undergone rigorous veterinary assessment throughout their preparation and the Club offers only those horses deemed to be of the necessary physical and medical standard to enable them to compete successfully in Hong Kong.
Providing greater return on investment for owners is also one of the Club’s objectives and it is pertinent to note that any horse purchased at the 2022 HKIS Sales is eligible for a one-time HK$1 million ISG (International Sales Griffin) Bonus for owners if successful in a Class 3 race during the 2022-23 racing season.
The HKIS honour roll already features Good Ba Ba, Pakistan Star, The Duke and Romantic Warrior, who created history in March when he became the first ISG to win the BMW Hong Kong Derby.
With seven wins from eight starts, including a memorable, campaign-closing triumph in the FWD QEII Cup (2000m), Romantic Warrior rose from 52 to 122 in the handicaps in a brilliant preparation for his owner Peter Lau and trainer Danny Shum.
In doing so, he has set an already incredible standard and I look forward to watching his career blossom further next season. Regarding this year’s crop, I attended the HKIS breeze-up last Sunday to watch this season’s crop and I was impressed with the way the horses paraded and breezed.
Among those who caught the eye in the breeze-up was Lot 7, an Irish-bred gelding by Starspangledbanner out of Kyllachy mare Rely On Me. By the same sire as the exciting 2022 Hong Kong Classic Cup winner California Spangle, this gelding shapes as a sprinter/miler and displayed a nice action when breezing up over the final 200m last Sunday in 10.84s.
Lot 11 is a two-year-old by Deep Field out of More Than Ready mare Bousquet. He stands at 16 hands, weighs 1168 pounds and breezed up impressively in 10.76s and is by a sire who has already succeeded at the highest level in Hong Kong through the deeds of LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint winner Sky Field.
Lot 16 is by Pins out of Zabeel mare Zaburn, who hails from the same family as G1-winning sprinter Notoire and Australian Listed winner and G1 performer Happy Hippy. Standing at 16 hands and weighing 1162 pounds, this gelding breezed-up in 10.64s. Pins has twice been awarded Hong Kong’s champion sire title and has produced great horses such as Aerovelocity and Ambitious Dragon.
Lot 9 also caught the eye in the breeze-up. By I Am Invincible out of the Pivotal mare Solar Moon, he hails from the same family as Dubai World Cup winner Dubai Millennium. Standing at 16 hands and weighing 1270 pounds, he appears to have settled in well in Hong Kong and breezed up in 10.76s.
Having watched all 17 horses on offer in the HKIS at the breeze-up and inspections, I am certain they will have their admirers and I wish all owners the very best of luck for the future with their purchases.
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