After months of anticipation and meticulous planning, LONGINES Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) are almost upon us as the great finale of an amazing week which celebrates international horse racing in Hong Kong
As destiny awaits the 43 world-class horses who will contest the four Group 1 features at Sha Tin on Sunday (10 December), we have already savoured an incredible week with the great success of the LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (6 December).
LONGINES HKIR week showcases Hong Kong at its best as well as highlighting the uniqueness of Happy Valley as a racing entertainment venue. On Wednesday, we were treated not only to spectacular opening ceremony, but also the best jockey globally – Ryan Moore – performing with a local hero as Vincent Ho became IJC champion.
The energy and vibe on Wednesday demonstrated what a remarkable venue Happy Valley is not only for horse racing, but also the music and dancing between the races. It was clear that our patrons appreciated the entertainment of the group H3rizon, who were very professional.
More than 20,000 customers flocked to Happy Valley for LONGINES IJC to enjoy both the intense competition on the track and the wonderful entertainment in our world-famous Beer Garden.
Vincent’s journey from aspiring apprentice to standing as one of Hong Kong racing’s brightest lights reached a new high when he became the first homegrown jockey to win one of international racing’s most coveted prizes.
Vincent is an inspiration to his fans and a credit to himself and his family. As an exemplar of what is possible with hard work and opportunity, Vincent richly deserves the success he has achieved and I wish him the best as he reunites with GOLDEN SIXTY in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (1600m) tomorrow.
On Friday night, we gathered for the LONGINES HKIR Gala Dinner to celebrate a tremendous week of racing and to acclaim Ryan Moore as the 2023 LONGINES World’s Best Jockey Award for his eight wins in the world’s top 100 G1 races for the year.
In winning for the award, Ryan joins Frankie Dettori as a four-time winner of the accolade and his continued success at the highest levels is testament to Ryan’s enduring excellence and dedication to his craft.
Apart from his own immense achievements, Ryan has generously played an unstinting role in the development of other jockeys with his advice over many years and his mentorship of Vincent is a key example of Ryan’s selfless approach.
With starters from Japan, France, Ireland, Singapore, Great Britain and the United Arab Emirates assembled to challenge Hong Kong’s finest equine athletes in the LONGINES HKIR tomorrow, I am grateful for the wonderful support the Club has received from overseas and local owners and I am also proud of the efforts of the Club’s teams who have worked to showcase our flagship meeting on the global stage.
Japan has been particularly strong in its support of LONGINES HKIR with 13 runners, including four individual Group 1 winners, while Ireland’s Ballydoyle operation has sent an unprecedented four runners including Group 1 winners LUXEMBOURG and WARM HEART.
With a record HK$118 million on offer, and world’s finest jockeys and trainers engaged, the ‘Turf World Championships’ shape as a fascinating meeting and I would like to wish everyone involved the very best of luck.
The LONGINES Hong Kong Vase is the first of the four Group 1 races on Sunday and will be run as Race 4 over 2400m at 2.10pm.
The speed will be moderate with JUNKO the likely frontrunner and WARM HEART settling behind the leader with SENOR TOBA on the pace as well.
Filly WARM HEART is a dual winner at Group 1 level over this distance against her own sex. She ran brilliantly at Breeder’s Cup when runner-up to star mare INSPIRAL over 2000m and returns to the extended distance here. WARM HEART is not only a very well-bred filly, but I think she will be well suited by the Sha Tin track. Ryan Moore has shown great determination to ride the filly at 117lb with maybe a pound or two overweight and WARM HEART is my win and place selection.
LEBENSSTIL has been marked as a stayer of great promise and comes off a win over 2200m at Nakayama and, although his track work has not been as impressive this week at Sha Tin as some of the other Japanese horses, he is a place chance.
Andre Fabre has won this race on two previous occasions including the inaugural running with BORGIA. He is represented by JUNKO who has trained well since arriving and comes off a Group 1 win in Munich on 5 November. JUNKO is a place chance to be ridden by Maxime Guyon.
Both ZEFFIRO and GERALDINA come to the race in good form and deserve consideration.
The LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint is run as Race 5 over 1200m at 2.50pm.
The speed in the race will be fast throughout with VICTOR THE WINNER leading from gate four, with JASPER KRONE also wanting to be on speed.
LUCKY SWEYNESSE is the highest-rated sprinter in the world this year on a mark of 125. He bounced back to winning form last start when beating VICTOR THE WINNER and WELLINGTON three weeks ago and he is my win and place selection for Zac Purton.
HIGHFIELD PRINCESS is the queen of European sprinting and posted her fourth win at Group One level when scoring a brilliant win from a difficult gate in the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp. Jason Hart rides for the first time in Hong Kong. HIGHFIELD PRINCESS rarely runs a bad race and is a place chance for her trainer John Quinn.
VICTOR THE WINNER is a sprinter of great promise and will get an easy lead from his draw. James McDonald rides and is a place chance. Of the other runners, AESOP’S FABLES is a progressive three-year-old and WELLINGTON, the defending champion who ran well first up for new trainer Jamie Richards, is a place chance.
The LONGINES Hong Kong Mile is run as Race 7 over 1600m at 4pm and has brought together an extraordinary field of world-class milers to take on one of Hong Kong’s greatest, GOLDEN SIXTY.
The race will be run at a good pace with front runner CALIFORNIA SPANGLE drawn perfectly in gate three. TRIBALIST will settle in the leading division with CAIRO and VOYAGE BUBBLE also racing on speed.
It is hard to go against a champion like GOLDEN SIXTY who has won 25 of 29 starts and is searching for his third win in this race. GOLDEN SIXTY comes off a long break having last raced on 30 April when he won the Champions Mile. The outside gate has made a difficult challenge even harder but GOLDEN SIXTY remains my winning selection for his trusted partner Vincent Ho.
Tactics will play an important role and defending champion CALIFORNIA SPANGLE is drawn to lead from barrier three for Christophe Soumillon. If Christophe manages to lead without pressure, he will make GOLDEN SIXTY’S task even more difficult, even though GOLDEN SIXTY is capable of phenomenal closing sectionals. CALIFORNIA SPANGLE is also a winning chance.
Japan represents a huge challenge with NAMUR and SERIFOS having won the past two editions of the Group One Mile Championship. Both have strong chances, as does SOUL RUSH who finished strongly to take second behind NAMUR three weeks ago, while SOUL RUSH and DIVINA are place chances.
There are many horses with winning claims in this race while BEAUTY ETERNAL and VOYAGE BUBBLE have place claims.
The LONGINES Hong Kong Cup is run as Race 8 over 2400m at 4.40pm. It is the world’s richest 2000m race on turf and it has attracted an outstanding field of world-class horses.
The speed in the race will be steady and will be set by MONEY CATCHER. LUXEMBOURG should settle close to the lead, with CHAMPION DRAGON going forward and SWORD POINT also settling on the speed.
ROMANTIC WARRIOR was dominant winning this race last year, as he was taking the QEII Cup in April. Owner Peter Lau and trainer Danny Shum took up a difficult challenge, but succeeded in winning the Cox Plate in October. However, the stress involved in taking a horse away on a long trip to Australia and then returning to Hong Kong, where he had to serve another two weeks in quarantine, should not be under-estimated. ROMANTIC WARRIOR faces an enormous task to perform at his best and defend his crown here but is a win and place chance for James McDonald. He will however have his work cut out to beat LUXEMBOURG and PROGNOSIS.
LUXEMBOURG is a multiple Group 1 winner and at his last start was a fighting second to champion stablemate Auguste Rodin in the Irish Champion Stakes. LUXEMBOURG is a chance to provide his trainer Aidan O’Brien with his first win in Hong Kong’s flagship race.
PROGNOSIS was runner-up to ROMANTIC WARRIOR in the QEII Cup before easily winning the Group 2 Sapporo Kinen in August. In his only run since, PROGNOSIS was third to the world’s best horse EQUINOX in the Tenno Sho Autumn on 29 October. PROGNOSIS is a winning chance for Yuga Kawada, especially if ridden differently to his last visit to Hong Kong.
This is a very deep race. ROUSHAM PARK is another emerging talent from Hiroyasu Tanaka’s team and can finish in the first three for Damian Lane.
HORIZON DORE showed an incredible turn of foot to win the Group 2 Prix Dollar at Longchamp in early October and then was presented to win at the furlong in the Champion Stakes at Ascot three weeks later but didn’t let down in the soft going when third to KING OF STEEL. HORIZON DORE is an exciting talent and is a place chance for Mickael Barzalona.
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