Magical Heads Foreign Contenders for Hong Kong Races

Magical, fresh off a runner-up showing in the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) at Keeneland, tops a strong international cast assembled for the Dec. 13 Longines Hong Kong International Races at Sha Tin Racecourse.

Despite travel and other restrictions prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the selected fields for the four group 1 races announced Nov. 25 by the Hong Kong Jockey Club include 15 overseas contenders representing Ireland, Japan, France, and Singapore. Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien provides the biggest punch with five runners and legitimate chances in three of the events.

The lineups are not yet written in stone, but O'Brien indicated shipping plans and jockey assignments for his contenders are proceeding apace. 

"To have entries of this caliber in any year would be notable," said HKJC executive director of racing Andrew Harding. "But this year's standard is remarkable given the challenge of the pandemic and all its attendant travel and quarantine issues.

"We are delighted that the quality of the selected runners for this year's Longines Hong Kong International Races is in keeping with our long-held commitment to deliver sporting excellence."

Local health authorities opened the door to keep the "international" in the HKIR by granting special immigration status for horse connections, who will be kept apart from locals while performing duties at Sha Tin throughout their stay in Hong Kong.

Magical, a 5-year-old Galileo mare, headlines a field of 11 for the Longines Hong Kong Cup (G1), run at 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles). Coolmore's star is joined by stablemate Peaceful, a 3-year-old daughter of Galileo who looks for a reversal of form after finishing 11th in the Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T) in her previous start.

They are joined by Japanese raiders Win Bright, who already has two group 1 wins at Sha Tin, including this race last year, Danon Premium, and Normcore. France's representative, Skalleti, a Kendargent gelding, was last seen finishing second in the QIPCO Champion Stakes (G1) at Ascot, one placing behind Addeybb but a half-length in front of Magical.

Hong Kong's hopes for the Cup rest principally with Furore. The Pierro gelding suffered through a long losing spell after winning the 2019 BMW Hong Kong Derby but has found new life recently with two impressive wins.

The Longines Hong Kong Mile (G1) will be an acid test for Golden Sixty, touted as the next star from the local stables. The 5-year-old Medaglia d'Oro  gelding swept through last season's Four-Year-Old Classic series, culminating in victory in the 2020 Derby, and rides a 10-race winning streak into the Mile. This will be his first group 1 race and first against top-rank international rivals.

Those rivals are last year's Hong Kong Mile winner, Admire Mars; the Ballydoyle duo of Order of Australia, the 73-1 upset winner of the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T) at Keeneland, and Lope Y Fernandez, third in that race; and Romanised, a 5-year-old son of Holy Roman Emperor and a group 1 winner in France last year who is owned by HKJC member Robert Ng.

The Mile also could be a swan song for two-time Hong Kong Horse of the Year Beauty Generation, who has begun to show his age in recent outings and comes off a short rest.

The Longines Hong Kong Sprint (G1) could be another launch pad for a Hong Kong star as Classique Legend makes his first start for local connections. The Not A Single Doubt gelding was imported after winning The TAB Everest, Australia's rich and prestigious sprint event, where he defeated seven group 1 winners. Also here is last year's runner-up, Hot King Prawn, who won the Jockey Club Sprint (G2) over course and distance in his previous start.

Danon Smash and Tower of London both bring impressive credentials to the 1,200-meter (about six-furlong) Sprint, and Singapore's sole runner on the day, Inferno, has posted eight wins from nine starts.

The Longines Hong Kong Vase (G1) is contested at 2,400 meters (about 1 1/2 miles)—a rare trip for Hong Kong runners. Still, locally based Exultant, who won the Vase in 2018 and finished third last year, is back for another try and faces just six rivals. The foreign intrigue is Mogul, another from the Coolmore-O'Brien connection, the winner of the Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris (G1). Mogul reported fifth in the Breeders' Cup Turf.