Gr1 stars, including Met winners Smart Call and Whisky Baron are among the 293 first stage nominations for the HK$84.5 million LONGINES Hong Kong International Races, which will take place at Sha Tin Racecourse on Sunday, 10 December.
Smart Call – 2016 Met winner
World horseracing’s year-end showcase has attracted 59 Gr1 winners among the 210 individual horses engaged, including top gallopers from Europe, Japan, USA, South Africa and Australasia.
The four-race Turf World Championships consists of the HK$25 million Gr1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m), the HK$23 million Gr1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (1600m), the HK$18.5 million Gr1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) and the HK$18 million Gr1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m).
The entries feature horses from 13 jurisdictions spanning five continents, and Japan has the largest of the overseas entries with 51 (13 more than in 2016).
Seventeen horses from Australia are entered, which is a marked drop on the 30 engaged last year.
The reduced Australian entry this time is due to the Australian government’s ongoing assessment of the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s protocols regarding horses travelling to and from its Conghua complex in the Chinese Mainland – at present, horses are required to complete 180 days in quarantine before returning to Australia. The entry features Gr1 winners Vega Magic and Redkirk Warrior.
LONGINES Hong Kong Cup
The day’s richest race, the HK$25 million LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m), has attracted 80 entries, 10 more than in 2016. The showpiece could see a clash between Gr1 QEII Cup winner Neorealism, his Japanese compatriot and Gr1 Dubai Turf winner Real Steel, three-time Gr1 scorer Werther, and the American raiders Ascend and Oscar Performance – last year’s Gr1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (1600m) hero and a two-time Gr1 scorer at 2000m this term. Highland Reel, winner of the Gr1 Coronation Cup (2400m) and Gr1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes (2000m) this year, holds entries in the Cup and the Vase.
Highland Reel in action
The Cup, first staged in 1988, and the oldest of Hong Kong’s international races, may also feature Britain’s Decorated Knight who has landed three Gr1’s this season, including the Irish Champion Stakes (2000m). Japan’s three-year-old crop could be represented by classic winner Al Ain, successful in the G1 Satsuki Sho (2000m) in April. New Zealand star Gingernuts, who numbers Australia’s Rosehill Guineas among his three G1 scores is engaged in the Cup and the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m), as is the top class British mare Blond Me. The last two winners of South Africa’s Gr1 Met are also entered, the mare Smart Call and this year’s victor, Whisky Baron, who holds entries in the Cup and the LONGINES Hong Kong Mile.
Whisky Baron wins inaugural Sun Met
LONGINES Hong Kong Mile
Local hero Beauty Only is entered to defend his Gr1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile crown. The contest, which has 81 first stage entries – six more than last year – carries a lucrative purse of HK$23 million, making it the richest turf mile on the planet. Hong Kong-trained horses have won 10 of the last 11 editions and last year’s runner-up Helene Paragon is entered again, as are the third and fourth home, Joyful Trinity and two-time Gr1 winner Contentment.
LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint
The world’s richest Gr1 sprint race, the HK$18.5 million LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m), has attracted 56 entries, a rise of 11 on last season, and promises to be a thriller as usual. Last year’s runner-up Lucky Bubbles and exciting two-time Gr2 winner Mr Stunning lead the home entries this time.
LONGINES Hong Kong Vase
French-trained runners have won the HK$18 million LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m) 10 times. Master trainer Andre Fabre succeeded with Borgia in 1999 and Flintshire in 2014, and this year he has Arc runner-up and Gr1 winner Cloth Of Stars among the 76 entries – 12 more than 2016. The four-year-old found only the super filly Enable too good for him at Chantilly last time.
