FOUR GROUP 1 RACES TO BE CONTESTED BY 35 INTERNATIONAL RUNNERS

SHA TIN will be the stage for the international racing elite to play out the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Races on Sunday, December 13.

Four Group 1 races, worth a combined HK$62m (approx. US$8m) in stakes, have lured 34 international runners to join 19 of the very best from Hong Kong.

Twenty-two individual G1 winners are present in the quartet of races – including nine in the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint alone – from nine racing jurisdictions overall.

“We are delighted to have attracted so many of the world’s best horses, trainers and jockeys to the Turf World Championships on the 125^th anniversary of the Hong Kong Jockey Club,” said William A Nader, Executive Director of Racing at the HKJC.

“The recent history of this great meeting exhibits neck-and-neck rivalry between Hong Kong-trained horses and those from the rest of the world. For the last four years, the meeting has been tied at two wins apiece for the home team and those from abroad.

“Many believe this is the strongest home defence ever assembled with valid winning chances in each race, but this is a prerequisite given the strength of the visiting contingent from five continents.

“The Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Races meeting is the most prestigious event on Hong Kong’s sporting calendar I can assure everyone a feast of world class racing on the second Sunday in December.”

Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Vase

Gr.1 – 2400m – HK$14m (US$1.8m)

THIRTEEN of the 15 editions of the Vase have gone to horses trained in France or Great Britain. Hong Kong, however, fields its strongest challenge in many years in a bid to regain the stayers’ crown for the first time since 1998.

Selections (14)

• Youmzain – The highest ranked runner at the meeting. Dual Gr.1 winner but best known for three times finishing runner-up in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
• Spanish Moon – Gr.1 winner of the Grand Prix de Saint Cloud this summer and most recently a close fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.
• Viva Pataca – Hong Kong’s Horse of the Year, seven times a Gr.1 winner who also holds the all-time course record at this C&D.
• Kasbah Bliss – Gr.3 winner in September and even better when a short-head runner-up in the Prix du Cadran (Gr.1) last month.
• Thumbs Up – HKGr.1 winner of the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Classic Mile last season. 
• Jaguar Mail – An excellent third in this race a year ago on his first international mission. 
• Packing Winner – Citi Champions & Chater Cup winner at this C&D in 2008; also won the Mission Hills Sha Tin Trophy last month.  
• Purple Moon – Suffered a last-gasp defeat in this race last year to go with other near-misses in the 2007 Melbourne Cup and 2009 Dubai Sheema Classic.
• Campanologist – Gr.2 winner at Royal Ascot last year from Conduit and successful in a Gr.3 this term for Godolphin.
• Buccellati – Beaten just two lengths into sixth in this race a year ago and most recently third in the Canadian International.
• Jamesina – HKGr.3 winner who posted a personal best when fifth last start in the Cathay Pacific International Cup Trial.  
• Black Mamba – Gr.1 winning mare in the USA along with two more successes at Gr.2 level.
• Cirrus Des Aigles – Has risen from obscurity at the start of the year to comprehensively winning the Gr.2 Prix du Conseil de Paris in October. 
• Daryakana – Unbeaten in four career starts including the Gr.2 Prix de Royallieu on her most recent outing in October. 

Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint

Gr.1 – 1200m – HK$12m (US$1.6m)

IS it time for Hong Kong’s seven-year stranglehold on this race to finally be released? This is officially the best sprint line-up assembled anywhere this year with the best sprinters from Australia, America, Europe and Japan all gunning for Hong Kong’s finest.

Selections (14)

• Sacred Kingdom – Hong Kong’s champion sprinter, winner of this race in 2007 and the joint-highest rated sprinter in the world on current international ratings.
• Scenic Blast – Australia’s Horse of the Year after three Gr.1 sprints in both hemispheres; will collect the US$1m Global Sprint Challenge bonus if he wins. 
• All Silent – Deeply impressive winning the Patinack Farm Classic earlier this month, his first of two Gr.1 wins down the Flemington straight.
• Apache Cat – Hugely popular eight-time Gr.1 winner in Australia who bids to improve on his third-placed run in this race in 2008.
• Total Gallery – Rapid progress this season to develop from high class handicapper to winner of the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp. 
• Borderlescott – Ultra-consistent speedster who has won the last two editions of the Nunthorpe Stakes.
• California Flag – America’s leading turf sprinter who won the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint earlier this month. 
• Inspiration – Shock winner of this race a year ago but proved it was far from a one-off with subsequent HKGr.1 and HKGr.3 victories.
• Cannonball – American runner-up in the Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot and recently a fast-finishing third in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.  
• Green Birdie – Runner-up in this race last year allied to successes in HKGr.2 and HKGr.3 events. 
• Laurel Guerreiro – Japan’s best sprinter having won both JRA Gr.1 sprints this year.  
• War Artist – Former topline sprinter in South Africa; Gr.2 and Gr.3 winner in Europe this summer and later third in the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp. 
• Joy And Fun –Dual Group winner in Hong Kong and third in the Cathay Pacific International Sprint Trial.   
• One World – One of the most consistent top-level sprinters in Hong Kong who surely has a big prize within his capabilities.

Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Mile

Gr.1 – 1600m – HK$16m (US$2.1m)

HONG Kong has kept this race at home for five of the last ten years and this year could be the most historic with Good Ba Ba going for an unprecedented ‘threepeat’ in the face of a formidable challenge from overseas and also Happy Zero, potentially Hong Kong’s next international star.

Selections (14)

• Good Ba Ba – Highest-rated horse in HK; triumphed in this race in 2007 and 2008 and will break new ground should he record a third success at this meeting.
• Egyptian Ra – Second highest-rated horse in HK; third in this race a year ago prior to his career highlight winning the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup last season.
• Able One – Carried off the Champions Mile in 2007 and an excellent runner-up in this race a year ago.
• Racing To Win – One of the best Australian horses of his generation winning five times at the highest level from 1400m to 1600m. 
• Gris De Gris – Multiple stakes winner in France and runner-up in the Gr.1 Prix d’Ispahan earlier this season.
• Happy Zero – Connections have opted to tackle the Mile despite Happy Zero being so dominant in the Cathay Pacific International Sprint Trial on Sunday.
• Pressing – Eight times a Group race winner; successful in Europe’s richest mile race, the Topkapi Trophy, for the past two seasons and facing his curtain call. 
• Sight Winner - Narrowly triumphed in the Champions Mile last season and runner-up last time out in the Cathay Pacific International Mile Trial.
• Alexandros – Proved his midfield finish in the Champions Mile was not his true form when an unlucky nose second in the Gr.1 Lockinge Stakes on his next start.
• Confront – Fast improving winner of his last three starts, two at Listed and most recently in the Gr.3 Joel Stakes in England.
• Duff - High class sprinter-miler from Ireland who arrives in HK with recent Gr.2 and Gr.3 wins over 1400m.
• Fellowship – Reached a career peak winning the Cathay Pacific International Mile Trial last weekend.
• Ferneley – Gr.3 winner in Ireland turned Gr.2 victor in the United States and recently runner-up in the Woodbine Mile in Canada.
• Sweet Hearth – Short-head runner-up in the Prix de la Foret most recently when she finished half a length ahead of the brilliant Goldikova.

Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Cup

Gr.1 - 2000m – HK$20m – (US$2.6m)

THE world’s richest race on turf over 2000m and the most lucrative event in Hong Kong sport, the Cup has gone to horses trained in seven countries over the past decade. This latest renewal pits last season’s international Gr.1 winners at this distance in Hong Kong - Eagle Mountain and Presvis – against, among others, Vision D’Etat and Collection, respective winners of the French and Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Derbies.

Selections (11)

• Vision D’Etat – Last year’s French Derby hero and successful in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2009.
• Eagle Mountain – The defending Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Cup champion and runner-up in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf.
• Presvis – Terrific victor of the Audemars Piguet QEII Cup last April and only barely denied a follow-up win in the SAI Cup in Singapore a month later.  
• Collection – The Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Derby hero last term who looked awesome capturing the Cathay Pacific International Cup Trial on 15 November. 
• Balius – Runner-up both in this race and the Audemars Piguet QEII Cup in 2008; now with Godolphin team which has won the Cup twice this decade.       
• Starlish – Gr.3 winner at his most recent outing for Elie Lellouche who has twice trained winners at this meeting. 
• Mr Medici – There are few more consistent horse in training than this fellow – HKGr.3 winner and yet to finish out of the first four in ten Hong Kong starts. 
• Unique Jewellery – Lifted the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Classic Trial last term and a super second to Collection in the CX International Cup Trial recently. 
• Special Days – Three wins last term and not beaten at all far when 6^th in the HKGr.3 Premier Cup in June.
• Queen Spumante – Extraordinary front-running display to lift the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup (Gr.1) in Kyoto recently.
• Ashalanda – Top class 3yo filly from France who has twice won at Gr.2 level from just four career starts.

NOTE: An additional horse may be selected after the running of the Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs on Friday, 27 November 2009.

 

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CATHAY PACIFIC HK INTERNATIONAL RACES

 

THE 23rd running of the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Races (CXHKIR) falls in a year when The Hong Kong Jockey Club celebrates its 125th anniversary.

The Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Races meeting has been one of the most important fixtures for the world's leading horses, jockeys, trainers and owners. Thousands of racing fans from around the world are attracted each year to Sha Tin for this premier Hong Kong sporting event, a race meeting that has gained a reputation as the Turf World Championships.

The Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Cup was originally run as the Hong Kong Invitation Cup on 24 January 1988 when overseas entries were restricted to those from Malaysia and Singapore.  Since then the number of countries and regions competing has increased significantly to include Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Macau, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and the United States of America.

The Invitation Cup was accorded international Group 3 status in February 1992 by the International Cataloguing Standards Committee and retitled the International Cup.  In 1994, the Cup was upgraded to Group 2 status.

The Hong Kong International Cup was renamed the Hong Kong Cup in 1999 and at the same time was granted international Group 1 status, the first Hong Kong race to be so honoured. The distance of the race was also extended from 1800 metres to 2000 metres.

The Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Mile was originally run as the Hong Kong Invitation Bowl over 1400 metres in December 1991 to mark the staging of the 22nd Asian Racing Conference in Hong Kong. It was renamed Hong Kong International Bowl in the second year.

The Hong Kong International Bowl was given the international Group 3 status in 1994 and was accorded Group 2 status in 1995.  In 1999, the race was renamed the Hong Kong Mile and run over 1600 metres.  In 2000, it was further upgraded to an international Group 1 event.

In 2007, the Club joined forces with Breeders' Cup Ltd by offering a jointly-funded US$1 million bonus to any horse that wins the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) and doubles up in the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Mile (G1).

The Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Vase was originally run as the Hong Kong International Vase, which was introduced in December 1994 as a third International Race to encourage Hong Kong horse owners to import top-class stayers.

The Vase, run over 2400 metres, was accorded international Group 2 status in April 1996 by the International Cataloguing Standards Committee and was run as a Group 2 event for the first time on 8 December 1996.  The race was renamed the Hong Kong Vase in 1999 so as to be in line with the Hong Kong Cup.  In 2000, the Vase was further upgraded to an international Group 1 event.

The Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint, formerly the Hong Kong Sprint, was added to the Hong Kong International Races in 1999.  It was initially run as a Listed Race and was accorded international Group 3 status in 2000. It was then promoted to Group 2 status in 2001.  In 2002, the Sprint was further upgraded to an international Group 1 event.

In 2006, the distance of the race was extended from 1000 metres to 1200 metres to enhance the quality of overseas runners.  In the same year, the race has been the final leg of the Global Sprint Challenge.

Cathay Pacific has been the title sponsor of the Hong Kong International Races since 2004.

 

HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB MEDIA RELEASE