Sha Tin Hosts Final Preps for HK International Races

With foreign participation still up in the air because of pandemic-related travel issues, a trio of group 2 races Nov. 22 at Sha Tin Racecourse will go a long way toward determining the fields for the Longines Hong Kong International Races three weeks down the road.

"Experience tells us," Hong Kong Jockey Club CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said in early November, "that Longines HKIR plans only really come together in the last few weeks before the big event, and with the world still trying to combat the pandemic, this year presents a series of unique challenges."

Shortly after that statement, the Hong Kong Jockey Club cleared one hurdle, receiving approval from the government to allow foreign participants to come to Hong Kong, provided they remain in a "bubble" apart from local residents.

That opened the door for Ireland's Coolmore connections to move forward with plans to send Magical, the runner-up in the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) at Keeneland, for the December races—likely a swan song for the 5-year-old daughter of Galileo.

Still, some of the hoped for out-of-town equine stars already have declined. Glory Vase, the winner of the 2019 Longines Hong Kong Vase (G1), is slated to contest the Japan Cup in Association with Longines (G1) Nov. 29 at Tokyo Racecourse rather than travel. So, too, is star mare Almond Eye, whose planned assault on the 2019 Longines Hong Kong Cup (G1) was derailed when she spiked an untimely fever.

However the "international" part of the HKIR shakes out, here's what's on offer for the final local prep races:

Jockey Club Cup

The locals always are tough in December no matter what the competition, but the top three contenders in the 2,000-meter (about 1 1/4-mile) Jockey Club Cup (G2)—Exultant, Time Warp, and Furore—all have something to prove.

Since the prep races do not include an event for stayers, Exultant will use this as his warm-up for the Hong Kong Vase at 2,400 meters (about 1 1/2 miles), a race he won in 2018. The 6-year-old gelding finished third in that event last year.

Time Warp, a 7-year-old, won the 2017 Hong Kong Cup and has soldiered on without returning to that peak performance, finishing last in 2019. He was withdrawn from the Sa Sa Ladies Purse (G3) Nov. 11 when he was determined to be lame before the start but was subsequently cleared by the HKJC veterinarians to return to action and makes his first start of the campaign.

Furore won the 2019 BMW Hong Kong Derby, then suffered through a 12-race win drought. He bounced back with a victory in his most recent start, the Sa Sa Ladies Purse.

Jockey Club Sprint

No matter what happens with shipping, quarantine regulations, and the like, there will be at least one "foreigner" in the field for the shortest race on the December program—and a really good one. Classique Legend, the winner of Australia's rich and prestigious The Everest (G1) in his most recent start, has arrived in Hong Kong for new, local connections. Quarantine restrictions preclude a start in the Jockey Club race, but new trainer Caspar Fownes says he's ready to roll the dice with the 5-year-old Pinocchio gelding three weeks later.

"With a view to having him ready for the Hong Kong Sprint (G1), we kept him quiet while in quarantine in Australia. We didn't want to take a chance to do anything on the track there while I wasn't hands-on there," Fownes said. "We'll try our best to get him as fit as we can in the short period of time that we have, and we'll have a trial with him and see if we can have him cherry-ripe for the big day."

The Longines Hong Kong Sprint could be ripe for the plucking. The preview race at the same 1,200 meters (about six furlongs) has 10 contenders with the highest-rated being Hot King Prawn. The 6-year-old gelding won this race in 2018, then finished ninth in the big race. He has finished in the top three in all nine subsequent races but shows only only a single win in that span.

Jockey Club Mile

The seven-horse field for the Jockey Club Mile features Hong Kong's star of the moment in Golden Sixty. The 2020 Hong Kong Derby winner rides a nine-race winning streak and exits a win in the Oriental Watch Sha Tin Trophy (G2). The next three finishers in that race, Ka Ying Star, Southern Legend, and Champions Way, all return.

"He's good, he's in form, and he has a good draw," trainer Francis Lui said of Golden Sixty. "I think he's the best horse at the moment."

Longines Jockey Championship

The announced lineup for the four-race competition, with a significant boost in prize money, includes the British Champions Day star duo of Hollie Doyle and Tom Marquand, Ryan Moore, and William Buick. France contributes Pierre-Charles Boudot and Mickael Barzalona.

Reigning Hong Kong riding champion Zac Purton and this season's leading rider, Joao Moreira, will compete, and the eight-member field will be filled with the two highest-ranked local jockeys other than Purton and Moreira as of Nov. 25.

The format also has been adjusted to even out competitors' chances. In the past, the blind draw for mounts has left some jockeys riding no-hopers and others with far brighter prospects. This year, handicappers will attempt to level the playing field by matching riders with horses. Purses also have been hiked to encourage owners to enter better stock.

"We are so pleased that, with strict protocols in place, the event can be a truly international occasion," said Andrew Harding, the HKJC's executive director of racing.