Year: 2023

Golden Sixty salutes under jockey Vincent Ho in the Group 1 Hong Kong Mile. The Pride of Hong Kong – Golden Sixty – landed a record-tying third HK$32 million Group 1 Hong Kong Mile (1600m) triumph this afternoon as a crowd of 65,252 people packed Sha Tin to cheer for their hometown hero. Returning first-up after a 224-day break between runs, Golden Sixty – an eight-year-old – showed no signs of slowing down with age as jockey Vincent Ho masterfully overcame the widest of 14 barriers to prevail as $2.30…

Romantic Warrior fends off Luxembourg to claim Group 1 Hong Kong Cup. Romantic Warrior put himself in the pantheon of Hong Kong greats, producing a huge effort to hold off Luxembourg and Hishi Iguazu in a heart-stopping climax to the Group 1 Hong Kong Cup (2000m) at Sha Tin on Sunday. Just 43 days after a historic win in Australia’s premier weight-for-age race, the Cox Plate (2040m), Romantic Warrior looked to have burned off his rivals with a burst of acceleration at the 400-metre mark, before answering jockey James McDonald’s…

HKJC CEO at media briefing. The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Chief Executive Officer Mr Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges has praised the 2023 Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) as “one of the best days of racing” Hong Kong has hosted. “In my humble opinion, I’ve been here now for 25 years and this was one of the best – if not the best – days of racing we have had in Hong Kong,” Mr Engelbrecht-Bresges said. “If I look at the situation after Covid, after we had last year already a good meeting,…

Lucky Sweynesse careers to his fourth Group 1 victory. Any questions about Lucky Sweynesse loosening his grip on the world’s best sprinter mantle were swept aside when Manfred Man’s speedster surged to victory in the HK$26 million Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) at Sha Tin on Sunday. It was a redemptive triumph for Lucky Sweynesse, who had no luck in last year’s sprint when he was trapped with nowhere before finishing sixth behind Wellington after a tiring Lim’s Kosciuszko went back through the field. Momentarily it looked like Lucky…

Junko delivers for Andre Fabre and Maxime Guyon in the Group 1 Hong Kong Vase. Andre Fabre’s reputation as an international target trainer is unsurpassed and, nine years after his last victory at Sha Tin, the Group 1 Hong Kong Vase (2400m) was the Frenchman’s for a third time on Sunday. A trailblazer at the Breeders’ Cup, winner of virtually every European Classic and an eternal champion of his homeland, Fabre had flown slightly under the radar with his runner Junko in what had looked hot competition from around the…

Darwin trainer Chloe Baxter and Alice Springs apprentice Ianish Luximon celebrating the win by Shecanmixit, who broke the track record in a 1000m maiden, at Fannie Bay on Friday. Picture: Caroline Camilleri (Darwin Photography Professionals) It was an eventful Darwin meeting on Friday. After Rising Sphere ($3.50) won the feature race, leading trainer Gary Clarke sealed a treble when Wilsons Prom ($2.90 fav) and Daunting Decision ($6.50) saluted. Clarke’s No.1 rider Jarrod Todd managed a double after partnering Rising Sphere and Daunting Decision. The Chole Baxter-trained Shecanmixit ($1.50 fav), once…