Longines Hong Kong International Races

A total of 69,916 racegoers flooded Sha Tin, with Happy Valley drawing an additional 10,775, to bring the total attendees for the Longines Hong Kong International Races to 80,691. It is the highest attendance number since 2018. "I personally think it was one of the best, if not the best, Longines Hong Kong International Races and an incredible week," said the HKJC's chief executive officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges. "Starting with the Longines International Jockeys' Championship, it was an amazing success. Today, we hoped to create a highlight and I personally think...

One of the more remarkable characteristics of Hong Kong racing is that for a jurisdiction that is home to roughly 1,200 Thoroughbreds, invariably the torch gets passed and the town is never wanting for world-class athletes. Going back to the turn of the century, gallopers to have captured the imagination of not only those in and around Hong Kong, but also of an increasingly sophisticated worldwide audience have included the likes of Fairy King Prawn (Aus), the legendary Silent Witness (Aus), Good Ba Ba, Vengeance of Rain (NZ), Ambitious Dragon...

New Zealander James McDonald has won the 2024 Longines World's Best Jockey title with 160 points, the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) announced on Wednesday. McDonald previously won the award in 2022. There was a margin of just 10 points back to Englishman Ryan Moore at 150. Moore, a four-time winner of the title, was clear of William Buick in third with 105 points. A ceremony will be held during a gala dinner of the Longines Hong Kong International Races at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre to...

Regular rider James McDonald has issued a positive bulletin on Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) ahead of his bid for a historic third consecutive win in the HK$40 million G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup at Sha Tin on Sunday, December 8. California Memory (Highest Honor {Fr}) is the only other dual winner of the Hong Kong Cup in 2011 and 2012, which means Romantic Warrior would be out on his own as the most successful horse in the race's history should he repeat his 2022 and 2023 triumphs at the...

All 12 Hong Kong Group 1 contests during the 2024/2025 season will be part of World Pool, the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) announced on Thursday. This is the first time races in Hong Kong have been incorporated into the World Pool schedule. Hong Kong will become the ninth jurisdiction to host World Pool races, joining the UK, Ireland, Germany, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Australia and Argentina. Over 25 jurisdictions and 70 partners bet into both the Hong Kong pools and World Pool and, in season...

A total of 56 horses from eight racing jurisdictions--some 26 of which have struck at the Group 1/Grade I level--including 31 overseas gallopers, have been extended invitations to the Longines Hong Kong International Races, to be staged Sunday, Dec. 8 at Sha Tin Racecourse. With Rebel's Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire})--a top-level winner in Hong Kong earlier this season and last seen taking out the GI Breeders' Cup Turf--passing the meeting, Resolute Racing's Goliath (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}) is the biggest name among those invited from abroad. The on-the-bridle winner of the...

Reigning Hong Kong Horse of the Year Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) and emerging sprint star Ka Ying Rising (NZ) (Shamexpress {NZ}) laid down their markers for the Longines Hong Kong International Races meeting in three weeks' time with arrogant victories in Sunday's G2 BOCHK Jockey Club Cup and G2 BOCHK Private Banking Jockey Club Sprint at Sha Tin Racecourse, respectively. The second-named saw the 1200-metre course record, held for the last 17 years by the outstanding Sacred Kingdom (Aus) (Encosta de Lago {Aus}), come tumbling down in a sublime...

The number of horses nominated to run at the 2024 edition of the Longines Hong Kong International Races has been boosted to 193 after the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) announced Celestial Legend (Aus) (Dundeel {NZ}) and Sol Oriens (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}), trained in Australia and Japan, respectively, as supplementary entries on Thursday. Celestial Legend and Sol Oriens join the all-star cast of nominations revealed on Wednesday ahead of the flagship meeting which takes place at Sha Tin on Sunday, December 8, with elite performers such as Romantic Warrior...

A truly international cast of 191 horses, among them 58 Group/Grade 1 winners, have been entered for the 2024 edition of the Longines Hong Kong International Races at Sha Tin on Dec. 8. Billed as the 'Turf World Championships', the races will offer record total prize-money of HK$126 million (£12,521,226/€15,043,683/$16,215,920). Group 1 riches will be offered for the following quartet of races:  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). The locals...

Officials at the Hong Kong Jockey Club could offer their devoted fans only limited access to the Longines Hong Kong International Races meeting from 2020 to 2022, a necessity attributable to the Coronavirus outbreak in March 2020, and while the attendance restrictions were gradually eased over the next few years, there were certain parameters and restrictions in place to ensure the show would go on. With things more or less back to normal in the SAR, the patrons--a reported 65,252 of them--poured through the Sha Tin turnstiles Sunday afternoon to...

Some 44 horses representing England, France, Ireland, Japan, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates in addition to a typically deep group representing the home team will line up for Sunday's Longines Hong Kong International Races at Sha Tin Racecourse in the New Territories, with record prizemoney of HK$118 million (£12 million/US$15.1 million) up for grabs across the four events. There figure to be clear favourites in each of the four races, but each come with his own set of question marks.   Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) loves the Sha...

The obstacles were already considerable for three-time reigning Hong Kong Horse of the Year Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) long before connections of the 44 runners for Sunday's Longines Hong Kong International Races meeting took their seats for Thursday's morning barrier draw in the Sha Tin parade ring. Already a nine-time Group 1 winner and victorious in 25 of his 29 career starts, the 8-year-old has not started since defeating Beauty Joy (Aus) (Sebring {Aus}) in the G1 Champions Mile in late April, a 224-day hiatus. Only twice in his...