Loves Only You, Five From Ballydoyle Head List for HKIR

Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T) heroine Loves Only You  is among a stellar line-up of 49 horses selected for the HK$100 million Longines Hong Kong International Races at Sha Tin Dec. 12.

Fresh off Breeders' Cup success in the United States, trainer Yoshito Yahagi's mare is just one of 22 grade/group 1 winners set to compete. Returning to Hong Kong in a bid for a second group 1 success in the city, the daughter of Deep Impact  is looking to cap a superb year and she is just one of the exciting contingent of overseas raiders aiming at this year's "Turf World Championships."

Featuring prominently once more, Aidan O'Brien will return to Hong Kong in strength with 2020 Longines Hong Kong Vase (G1) winner Mogul  while stablemates Broome , Japan , Bolshoi Ballet , and Mother Earth  also feature. 

While the COVID-19 pandemic has created uncertainty around many international racing events, the strength of the international presence in this year's line-up confirms that the Sha Tin showpiece retains its pre-eminent position at the top of the agenda for international horsemen.

The HKIR is the sport's global year-end spectacular and features the HK$30 million Longines Hong Kong Cup (G1), the HK$26 million Longines Hong Kong Mile (G1), the HK$24 million Longines Hong Kong Sprint (G1), and the HK$20 million Hong Kong Vase. The Cup, Mile, and Sprint are the world's richest group 1 races on turf over their respective distances.

"The Longines Hong Kong International Races is firmly established as one of the world's principal racing events and this year we will welcome an extraordinary line-up from Japan, Great Britain, Ireland, and France which includes 16 individual group 1 winners," said Andrew Harding, the Hong Kong Jockey Club's executive director of racing. "To have runners of this caliber in any year would be notable but once again it is truly remarkable given the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"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 and Loves Only You's return to Hong Kong after her historical Breeders' Cup victory is incredibly exciting, as is the arrival of a quintet from Aidan O'Brien's all-powerful Ballydoyle operation.

"Our hometown hero Golden Sixty is looking to enhance his astonishing unbeaten streak to 16 and also set a new all-time winning record of 19 in Hong Kong should he successfully defend his Hong Kong Mile title while star sprinter Wellington's development adds further intrigue and everything surely points to a thrilling afternoon of sport."

Loves Only You spearheads a strong cohort from Japan, which includes the first and second out of the Sprinters Stakes (G1) at Nakayama Racecourse last month, Pixie Knight and Resistencia, respectively, with both plotting raids on the Hong Kong Sprint. Danon Smash  returns to defend his crown in the dash, while Glory Vase will attempt to recapture his Hong Kong Vase title from Mogul.

Joining Loves Only You in the Hong Kong Cup is Lei Papale , winner of the Osaka Hai (G1) earlier this year, who is looking to remain unbeaten over 10 furlongs. Bolshoi Ballet, O'Brien's Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) winner, plots a course for the Hong Kong Cup, as does Mac Swiney  for Jim Bolger and Dubai Honour  for William Haggas. Both Mac Swiney, a two-time group 1 winner, and Dubai Honour placed behind Sealiway  in the QIPCO British Champion Stakes (G1) with the latter getting within a length. 

O'Brien will be double-handed in the Hong Kong Vase as the incredibly consistent Broome, who runs in the Nov. 28 Japan Cup in association with Longines (G1), journeys to Hong Kong for the first time following his cracking second to Yibir  in the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) earlier this month at Del Mar. 

The William Muir-trained Pyledriver , winner of the Coral Coronation Cup (G1) at Epsom, is in the Hong Kong Vase, while H.H. Aga Khan's Ebaiyra , trained by the iconic Alain de Royer-Dupre, is also targeting a Hong Kong Vase raid. 

Eyeing a 16th consecutive win and second successive Hong Kong Mile crown, Hong Kong's Golden Sixty will face no shortage of stiff opposition, including Mother Earth for the Irish mastermind, O'Brien. Her brilliant 3-year-old season boasts two group 1 titles, winning the QIPCO One Thousand Guineas (G1) and Prix Rothschild (G1), while she has also placed in seven other group 1 contests in Great Britain, Ireland, France, and the U.S. 

Indy Champ  and Vin de Garde  join the Japanese brigade bidding to overthrow Golden Sixty, as does Danon Kingly , winner of the Yasuda Kinen (G1) in June. Trainer Noriyuki Hori is no stranger to success in Hong Kong after the heroics of the great Maurice  and he'll be represented by Hishi Iguazu in the Hong Kong Cup as well as the grade 1-winning Salios, who also boasts consecutive runner-up efforts to Japan's Triple Crown-winning Contrail. Salios will contest the Hong Kong Mile. 

Joining Golden Sixty, Hong Kong's reigning Horse of the Year, in the home team's defense is Hong Kong's champion stayer Panfield, who will be running in the Hong Kong Cup.

Hong Kong's emerging talent has always been ever-present and the Hong Kong Sprint will have no shortage of juvenile stars. Lucky Patch steps out for Hong Kong following consecutive group 2 scores, while Courier Wonder, Naboo Attack, and Sky Field bolster the home team's defenses with established group 1 stars Hot King Prawn and Wellington spearheading the charge.