The Queen ElizabethII Cup has a proud history, almost as long as that of Hong Kong's professional racing itself. But the race, with its present sponsor Audemars Piguet, has only been around for just over a decade.
It was long overshadowed by the international meeting in December, and the AP QEII Cup did take its time to throw off that 'little brother' perception.
However, when the race is run and won for the 34th time tomorrow at Sha Tin, the winner can justifiably claim to be one of the world's elite - a horse fully capable of matching it on the track in any company, anywhere.
It was not always so.
The race, named by the then Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club to honour the sitting British monarch, began as a humble HK$50,000 domestic trophy event over 1,575 metres at Happy Valley in 1975, four years after racing turned professional.
It was won by Nazakat, who would return three years later to become the first dual winner of the race when the prize money had dropped to HK$45,000.
