Longines Hong Kong International Races

The return of Group 1 racing in Japan is officially about six weeks away, but Sunday's 2000-metre Sapporo Kinen--a Group 2 in name only--sees the return to action of some familiar names who are potentially looking to prep for big spots further afield over the coming months. Shahryar (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), the 2021 G1 Tokyo Yushun hero, makes his first start since finishing fifth to world's top-rated racehorse Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) in defence of his title in the G1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic Mar. 25, with a...

Prize money for the Longines Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) will be worth a record HK$118 million in 2023 and will again host the world's richest Group 1 turf races over 1200m, 1600m and 2000m, the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) announced on Monday. The G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup received a 5.9% increase to HK$36 million, the G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) has been boosted by 8.3% to HK$26 million, the G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile (1600m) will grow by 6.7% to HK$32 million and the G1 Longines...

Prize money for Hong Kong's 2023/24 racing season will rise by 8 per cent with increases coming across every class of competition; Griffins to Class 1 and the 4-year-old Classic Series will have an additional HK$94 million on offer. Including bonuses--but not reflecting Hong Kong's Group 1 races, the seven elite contests featured at Longines Hong Kong International Races, FWD Champions Day, and Group 2 and Group 3 races--the figure will grow to HK$1.38 billion next season. Details of the prize money structure, which will include Group racing, will be...

His 22 career victories is an all-time record in Hong Kong racing history. His HK$116 million (£12.2 million/US$14.7 million) in career earnings makes him not only the richest racehorse to look through a bridle in the Special Administrative Region, but also one of the richest Thoroughbreds, ever. Stanley Chan's Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) can make even more history this Sunday when he starts a long odds-on proposition in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile, a victory in which will tie Good Ba Ba (Lear Fan) with three straight wins...

Two-time reigning Hong Kong Horse of the Year Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) was allotted barrier four in a field of 10 mile specialists from Japan and Australia in addition to the locals as he shoots to equal the record of Good Ba Ba (Lear Fan) with a third consecutive victory in Sunday's G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile at Sha Tin Racecourse. Winner under a five-pound penalty of the G2 BOCHK Jockey Club Mile when making his seasonal debut three weeks ago, the 7-year-old has won 22 of his 25...

Invitations for this year's Longines Hong Kong International Races were made public prior to the start of the Happy Valley meeting Wednesday, with a total of 24 overseas horses--five more than last year--from Australia, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan and Singapore among the invitees. In the history of the HKIR, only one horse--Good Ba Ba (Lear Fan)--has managed to score three victories at the meeting. More history could be made this year when two-time Hong Kong Horse of the Year Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) and Japan's Glory Vase (Jpn)...

A total of 127 foreign-based gallopers--of which fully one-third have already succeeded at the highest level--from eight jurisdictions across the globe have been entered for the HK$110-million Longines Hong Kong International Races to be staged at Sha Tin Racecourse Sunday, Dec. 11. With strict COVID protocols in place over the past two years and with a closed-loop system which allowed overseas entrants to train and compete, the Longines Hong Kong International Races still proved to be a target coveted by overseas connections, and saw victorious performances from the likes of...

Dual Group 1 winner Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) has emerged from his G1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth QIPCO S. victory in good order and will point towards the G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on Oct. 2, according to co-trainer William Muir. After running second in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup in December, the bay did not make an impact in Riyadh, and was an unlucky fourth in the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic in March. Wheeled back attempting a title defence of his G1 Coronation...

Longines and the Hong Kong Jockey Club have extended their partnership another five years to 2026. The partnership, which began in 2012, sees Longines continue as the title partner and Official Timekeeper of the G1 Longines Cup, the Longines International Jockeys' Championship and the Longines Hong Kong International Races. The Longines World's Best Jockey award is also presented during the Longines HKIR. Hong Kong will also continue to be the home of the world's richest Group 1 turf races over 1200m, 1600m and 2000m when the collective prize money of...

Record total prize-money and incentives of HK$1.62 billion, approximately £158.6 million, will be offered across the 2022/23 season, the Hong Kong Jockey Club announced on Wednesday. Overall purses will be bolstered by a record single-season increase of 11.5% (HK$167.2 million) and there are also increases in prize-money across middle-distance races and a new bonus system. Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, chief executive officer of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said, "The last two and a half years have been among the most challenging times in Hong Kong racing history. Despite this, we have...

by Alan Carasso Making the final appearance of her illustrious career, Japan's Loves Only You (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) displayed the same refuse-to-lose attitude that carried her to a history-making success in last month's GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat in Sunday's G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup, at HK$30 million the richest of the four events that make up the 'Turf World Championships'--the Longines Hong Kong International Races. Glory Vase (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), one of three Japanese winners in 2019, took...

by Alan Carasso The Longines Hong Kong International Races meeting Sunday at Sha Tin Racecourse has had much to overcome over the last few years. In 2019, massive social unrest--including a cluster at the Chinese University of Hong Kong a stone's throw from the track--left some doubt as to whether the event would go forward at all. At the end of the day, not only did it proceed, but it was supported to the tune of record turnover of HK$1.71 billion. Twelve months ago, in the midst of a pandemic...