Loves Only You, Golden Sixty Headline HK International

The Longines Hong Kong International Races usually provide a climax to the global racing year, and the Dec. 12 renewal could cap a massive season for Japanese racing.

The four group 1 events on the card all have strong Japanese representation. A good showing by even a few of them would be the icing on a cake that saw Japan win its first Breeders' Cup races and second straight Saudi Derby among other triumphs and come tantalizingly close in others.

As usual, the local contingent will be a tough nut to crack, especially with Hong Kong's reigning Horse of the Year, Golden Sixty, gunning for his 16th straight win and record 19th overall in Hong Kong when he lines up for the Longines Hong Kong Mile (G1)—a race he won last year.

And Ireland, England, and Europe add to the overseas flavor as the Hong Kong Jockey Club has worked around tight pandemic protocols to get horses and humans in and out for the annual extravaganza at Sha Tin Racecourse.

One of Japan's highest hopes is Loves Only You , the favorite in the Longines Hong Kong Cup (G1) at 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles).

The 5-year-old Deep Impact  mare not only won the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T) at Del Mar in November but finished a desperately close third behind only Mishriff  and Chrono Genesis  in the Longines Dubai Sheema Classic (G1) in March at Meydan Racecourse. She bounced back from that to win the FWD QE II Cup (G1) at Sha Tin a month later.

The jockey-trainer team of Yuga Kawada and Yoshito Yahagi look to reprise the Del Mar triumph in what's slated to be her final race while leaving from the No. 4 gate in a field of 12.

The locals in the Cup include Ka Ying Star, a 6-year-old Cityscape  gelding, and Glorious Dragon, a 6-year-old gelding by Teofilo . They were second and third in the local prep for the Cup, and stand to improve from that effort.

Also in from overseas for the Cup are the likes of Bolshoi Ballet , winner of the July 10 Belmont Derby Invitational (G1T) and most recently sixth in the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T); up-and-coming 3-year-old Dubai Honor from the William Haggis yard; and the Jim Bolger-trained Mac Swiney , winner of the May 22 Tattersalls Irish Two Thousand Guineas (G1).

For the visitors, the Hong Kong Mile may the toughest nut to crack of any of the day's four features with Golden Sixty poised to add another chapter to his legend.

The 6-year-old Medaglia d'Oro   gelding blitzed through the last two Hong Kong seasons undefeated, winning the Triple Crown capped by the BMW Hong Kong Derby, then four group 1 races, including this one in 2020. The confirmed stretch runner will be the odds-on favorite.

"He is all ready and we're hoping that luck will come to my team and my owner—and to me too," trainer Francis Lui said after the Dec. 9 barrier draw. "Barrier 2 is okay. We'll just relax him and wait for the straight, and then we can just let him go."

Still... Japan.

The two top challengers in the Mile are Danon Kingly  and Indy Champ . Danon Kingly, a 5-year-old son of Deep Impact, won the Yasuda Kinen (G1) at Tokyo Racecourse in June, then was second, beaten just a head by the well-regarded Schnell Meister , in his grade 2 return over the same course after a four-month freshening. Indy Champ, a 6-year-old by Stay Gold , finished seventh in the 2019 Hong Kong Mile but has not been worse than fourth in top company since then.

Kawada also rides Danon Kingly and referenced how a win in the Mile would cap an already stellar year.

"I've had a well-enough year overall," Kawada said. "I've had some obviously big-race results but, overall, I'm looking to improve and I would like to get a more winners in Japan. But, on the big stage, I'm very happy with the year."

The Aidan O'Brien-Coolmore-Ryan Moore team brings Mother Earth . The 3-year-old Zoffany  filly had a remarkable summer but tailed off as the weather cooled, most recently reporting 10th in the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile Presented by PDJF (G1T).

The Japanese contingent for the Longines Hong Kong Sprint (G1) at 1,200 meters (about 6 furlongs), might be the strongest in any of the international races with the likes of Pixie Knight, a 3-year-old son of 2015 Hong Kong Mile winner Maurice ; last year's Hong Kong Sprint winner Dannon Smash, another Yuga Kawada trainee; and Resistencia, second to Pixie Knight in the Sprinters Stakes (G1) at Nakayama in their last outing Dec. 2.

Hong Kong's hopes in the Sprint could depend on further improvement by Lucky Patch, who won the local prep, or a reversal of form by the venerable Hot King Prawn, a 7-year-old Denman  gelding who was second in this race in 2019.

The Japanese also have the likely favorite in the Longines Hong Kong Vase (G1) at 2,400 meters (about 1 1/2 miles) in Glory Vase. The aptly named 6-year-old by Deep Impact romped to victory in the 2019 Vase and was second only to the aforementioned Loves Only You in the April 25 FWD QE II Cup at Sha Tin.

Pyledriver  arrives from England for the Vase after winning the June 4 Coral Coronation Cup (G1) at Epsom and an all-weather prep at Lingfield Nov. 13. O'Brien brings Mogul , a Galileo  4-year-old who won the 2020 Vase.