After months of anticipation and meticulous planning, the day of destiny has almost arrived for the 52 world-class horses and their connections at the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) at Sha Tin on Sunday (8 December).
With record prizemoney of HK$126 million on offer across the four Group 1 features – the HK$40 million LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m), HK$36 million LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (1600m), HK$26 million LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) and HK$24 million LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m) – a total of 23 individual Group 1 winners will vie for glory.
Racing enthusiasts have already enjoyed a wonderful week with the resounding success of the LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (4 December), when Frenchman Mickael Barzalona emerged triumphant.
LONGINES HKIR week showcases Hong Kong at its very best, taking in world-class racing at Happy Valley, where 12 of the sport’s finest jockeys delivered an incredible spectacle with Hollie Doyle and James McDonald also winning races in the lucrative LONGINES IJC before Mickael became France’s third winner of the series.
More than 20,000 people converged on Happy Valley to enjoy both the LONGINES IJC and the fabulous entertainment in our world-famous Beer Garden.
On Friday night, we gathered for the LONGINES HKIR Gala Dinner to celebrate our sport and acclaim James McDonald as the 2024 LONGINES World’s Best Jockey Award for his nine wins in the world’s top 100 G1 races over the past 12 months.
James’s sustained success at the pinnacle of our sport is evidence of his exceptional skills and determination to be the best.
With horses from Japan, France, Ireland, Australia and Great Britain gathered 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.
I would like to wish all owners, jockeys, trainers and staff the very best of luck and I look forward to watch the ‘Turf World Championships’ unfold tomorrow.
The G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase is carded as Race 4 and will be run over 2400m at 2.10pm.
The speed will be good to slow with CONTINUOUS (Wayne Lordan) the likely leader, while KA YING GENERATION will ensure the pace remains strong with Andrea Atzeni likely to ride him positively from the halfway mark. PRADARIA (Cristian Demuro) will also race on the pace.
Melbourne and Caulfield Cup winner WITHOUT A FIGHT resumed from an injury lay-off with an excellent third to VIA SISTINA in the G1 VRC Champion Stakes (2000m) at Flemington on 9 November. WITHOUT A FIGHT has been in good form since arriving in Hong Kong and he is my win and place selection for Mark Zahra.
STELLENBOSCH won the Japanese 1000 Guineas before running second in the Oaks (2400m) in May. She resumed with a solid third in the Shuka Sho (2000m) on 13 October, has worked well since arriving in Hong Kong and is also a win and place chance for Joao Moreira.
LUXEMBOURG has been a warrior for trainer Aidan O’Brien, winning a Group 1 as a two-year-old and each season since, including the Coronation Cup at Epsom in June. Last start, he was sixth to REBEL’S ROMANCE in the Breeders’ Cup Turf and this is his last start before retiring to stud. LUXEMBOURG will be ridden by Ryan Moore and is a place chance.
Andre Fabre has a remarkable record in this race winning the first edition with BORGIA in 1999, FLINTSHIRE in 2014 and last year’s renewal with JUNKO. This year, he is represented by MARQUISAT, an emerging talent who can run well and is a place chance for Mickael Barzalona.
GIAVELLOTTO (Oisin Murphy), DUBAI HONOUR (Tom Marquand) and IRESINE (Marie Velon) are high-class Europe stayers who will run well and have place chances.
FIVE G PATCH and LA CITY BLANCHE are both suited at 2400m, having been placed behind REBEL’S ROMANCE at Group 1 level in May over the trip. KA YING GENERATION and ENSUED are both emerging talents and can run well.
The G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint is carded as Race 5 and will be run at 2.50pm over 1200m.
The speed in the race will be good with CALIFORNIA SPANGLE likely to lead from barrier two for Brenton Avdulla. Derek Leung will push forward on VICTOR THE WINNER from his wide draw and KA YING RISING will also settle in the forward division.
KA YING RISING has been incredibly impressive stringing together seven successive wins. At his latest run, he broke the long-standing Sha Tin 1200m track record, beating HOWDEEPISYOURLOVE and HELIOS EXPRESS in the G2 BOCHK Jockey Club Sprint on 17 November. KA YING RISING is my win and place selection for Zac Purton despite drawing awkwardly in gate 11.
CALIFORNIA SPANGLE has drawn well and Brenton will look to use his good early speed to lead and then steady the pace through the middle stages. CALIFORNIA SPANGLE is proven as a world-class sprinter at his best and he is a place chance.
HOWDEEPISYOURLOVE (James McDonald) finished strongly when second to KA YING RISING last start and looked in great form in a recent trial. He is a genuine place chance at big odds, along with HELIOS EXPRESS (Hugh Bowman) in what is expected to be a domination of the race by Hong Kong sprinters.
The G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile is carded as Race 7 and will be run at 4pm over 1600m.
The race will be run at a good pace with BEAUTY ETERNAL (Zac Purton) and LAZZAT (Cristian Demuro) likely to vie for the lead.
VOYAGE BUBBLE posted a strong win in the BOCHK Private Wealth Jockey Club Mile (1600m) on 17 November and he has been working well since. He should be in an ideal position under James McDonald and he is a win and place chance.
GALAXY PATCH was explosive winning the Sha Tin Trophy on 13 October and then had a torrid run behind VOYAGE BUBBLE in the Jockey Club Mile. He is an interesting outsider and I would not write off GALAXY PATCH as a place chance for Vincent Ho, who has won this race three times on GOLDEN SIXTY.
ANTINO was outstanding in winning the Toorak Handicap (1600m) by a big margin. He followed that with a strong second to MR BRIGHTSIDE in the G1 Champions Mile (1600m) at Flemington. ANTINO has been in good form since arriving in Hong Kong and is a place selection for Blake Shinn.
SOUL RUSH was a brilliant winner of the Mile Championship at Kyoto three weeks ago, recording a career-high performance. He is a win and place chance for Joao Moreira.
The Japanese hand is exceptionally strong in this race. JANTAR MANTAR (Yuga Kawada) is a high quality three-year-old who won the NHK Mile in May and has looked outstanding on the track since arriving in Hong Kong.
CHANCHENG GLORY (Karis Teetan) will be at long odds but will perform well and is a top five chance.
The G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup is the world’s richest 2000m race on turf with prizemoney of HK$40 million and has attracted an outstanding field of world-class horses, pitting Hong Kong hero ROMANTIC WARRIOR against Japanese superstar LIBERTY ISLAND.
The speed will be good with WINGSPAN (Wayne Lordan) leading and ROMANTIC WARRIOR on the pace from his rails draw. NIMBLE NIMBUS (Andrea Atzeni), who has gate two, will also be in the leading division, with TASTIERA prominent.
ROMANTIC WARRIOR is looking to maintain an unbeaten record for 2024 under James McDonald and also to become the first horse to win this race three times. He was brilliant when dropping back in distance to beat SOUL RUSH in the Yasuda Kinen (1600m) in June and then toyed with his opposition in the BOCHK Jockey Club Cup over this trip on 17 November.
In my view, ROMANTIC WARRIOR is in even better form than last year and he is my win selection but he will face some of the strongest competition from TASTIERA and LIBERTY ISLAND, who is working very impressively.
LIBERTY ISLAND is one of the great Japanese fillies of the modern era, sweeping the Tiara Triple Crown in her three-year-old season before finishing second to EQUINOX in last year’s Japan Cup. She resumed when third in the Sheema Classic in Dubai in March and at her only run since was unplaced in the Tenno Sho Autumn behind DO DEUCE. LIBERTY ISLAND needed her last run in the Tenno Sho after a long break and she will be in top form as a place chance for Yuga Kawada.
TASTIERA won last year’s Japan Derby and was an excellent second in the Tenno Sho Autumn to DO DEUCE, who won the Japan Cup at his next start. TASTIERA is a place chance for Damian Lane.
SPIRIT DANCER posted a career-peak rating in winning the Bahrain Trophy on 15 November having also won it the previous year. He is in excellent form and is a place chance for Oisin Orr.
CALIF was third in Bahrain behind SPIRIT DANCER when he didn’t have a lot of luck in running. His previous form this year has been first-class including a win at Group 1 level in Munich in July beating Fantastic Moon. CALIF has caught the eye in his work since arriving in Hong Kong and is a place chance at good odds for Adrie de Vries.
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