Moore, Ortiz Line Up for HK Jockey Battle
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Ryan Moore, currently topping the Longines World's Best Jockey rankings, heads the list of riders invited for the Dec. 10 Longines International Jockeys' Championship at Happy Valley in Hong Kong.
Irad Ortiz Jr. is set to represent North America in the competition, which finds 12 riders competing for HK$800,000 (about US$100,000).
The competition kicks off the Longines Hong Kong International Races festivities, which culminate in four group I events at Sha Tin Dec. 14.
Moore is a three-time champion in England and has ridden the winners of 15 group or grade I races in seven countries so far during 2014. Ortiz comes to the competition fresh from his first-ever Breeders' Cup victory, the Juvenile Fillies Turf (gr. IT) with Lady Eli, and with a Belmont Park riding title to his credit.
Others in the lineup are Christophe Soumillon from France, Richard Hughes from England, Pat Smullen from Ireland, Yuichi Fukunaga from Japan, Kerrin McEvoy from Australia, James McDonald from New Zealand, S'Manga Khumalo from South Africa, and three Hong Kong riders likely to include Zac Purton.
The final slot in the competition is reserved for the leading graduate, as of Nov. 26, of the Hong Kong Jockey Club's Apprentice Jockeys' School. The school is a point of pride for the HKJC and it appears Vincent Ho is in line for this year's honor with 14 wins so far this season in Hong Kong.