HKJC CEO Blog

Since its inception in 2019, the World Pool has continued to flourish and last weekend’s running of the Oaks and Derby at Epsom underlined its growing popularity with record-breaking turnover on both Classics.  Before Desert Crown’s stunning Derby victory on Saturday, record turnover for a single World Pool race was in last year’s Epsom Derby…

Hong Kong’s status as a global leader in thoroughbred racing is built on several factors – integrity, quality of horses, trainers and jockeys, the support and passion of Hong Kong’s owners and the enthusiasm of racing fans both locally and across the world.  For the past 50 years, the Apprentice Jockeys’ School (AJS) has played…

Lester Piggott’s passing at the weekend triggered a deserved flood of tributes, delivering a reminder of the towering stature of a man who influenced racing on a global scale, including Hong Kong.  Very few athletes are recognised around the world simply by their first name. Lester was one of them. It is truly remarkable to…

It is a measure of John Size’s enduring excellence that, over the past 20 seasons, only a handful of fellow trainers have beaten the 11-time champion horseman for the Hong Kong trainers’ championship.  Caspar Fownes (four times), John Moore (twice), Tony Cruz (once), Dennis Yip (once) and Ricky Yiu (once) are part of an exclusive…

Douglas Whyte’s reputation as a master tactician was well founded in a wonderful riding career crowned by an unmatched 13 successive Hong Kong champion jockey titles and a record 1,813 wins in the saddle.  Douglas’ ability to be in the right place at the right time was a recurring theme during his riding days and…

Regarded an elite staying test, the HK$12 million G1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2400m) at Sha Tin on Sunday serves as the appropriate bookend to our Group 1 season in Hong Kong.  The race has been won by several great champions over the years, notably Viva Pataca, River Verdon, Exultant, Vengeance Of Rain…

A quick glance at the honour roll of the HK$12 million Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2400m) serves as a timely reminder of why the final Group 1 contest of the Hong Kong season is so revered.  With a history stretching back to 1870, the Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup has been won…

When John Size created more history at Happy Valley on Wednesday night by becoming only the second trainer to prepare 1,400 winners in Hong Kong, the least surprising aspect of the occasion was how quickly John disappeared from the limelight.   No sooner had Seizing The Moment left the winners’ enclosure than John was back to…

As tempting as it must have been for owner Stanley Chan and trainer Francis Lui to take Golden Sixty to Japan for the G1 Yasuda Kinen (1600m) next month, in my view the owner and the trainer made the right decision by looking at all the factors and the interest of the horse has to…

Sustained excellence is a quality shared by Tony Cruz and John Size and, by a quirk of fate, two of Hong Kong’s most decorated racing figures are bearing down on another significant racing milestone almost locked in unison.  Tony (1,398 career wins) and John (1,397) trained a treble and double, respectively, on Wednesday night to…