https://www.scmp.com/rss/9459/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Australian sprinting mare In Her Time has been attracting plenty of admirers at Sha Tin this week with her fluent action and great attitude. She didn’t let anyone down when trainer Kris Lees gave her a gentle breeze on Friday morning as the countdown to Sunday’s HK$20 million Longines Hong Kong Sprint continues. The seven-year-old mare stayed firmly on the bridle throughout her work, clocking 57.75 seconds for 800m near the outside rail of the Sha Tin course proper. She increased tempo... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/3040969/hkir-kris-lees-channels-bart-cummings-her-time-tunes-hong-kong-sprint?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/3040969/hkir-kris-lees-channels-bart-cummings-her-time-tunes-hong-kong-sprint?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Dec 2019 09:31:32 +0000 A number of horses competing in Sunday’s Longines Hong Kong International Races laid their credentials down at Sha Tin on Thursday morning but none shone as brightly as the globetrotting British stayer Prince Of Arran. The six-year-old gelding, on his second visit to Hong Kong, set the course alight with a stunning solo gallop at the end of some solid pacework. His splits would have done a Hong Kong Sprint contender justice, skipping home the last 600m in 35.32, the last 400m in 22.6 and the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/3040795/hkir-prince-arran-stakes-his-vase-claims-stunning-gallop?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/3040795/hkir-prince-arran-stakes-his-vase-claims-stunning-gallop?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Dec 2019 09:46:40 +0000 If there was any lingering doubt that the Japanese horses are the yardstick for this year’s Hong Kong international races, a series of gallops at Sha Tin on Wednesday morning erased it completely. The Japanese visitors showcased almost all their heavy artillery on a clear, bright morning, with only Persian Knight saved for an intended breeze 24 hours later. Although the Japanese team boasts tremendous depth, it was perhaps their leading miler Indy Champ who held the most interest, having won... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/3040569/hkir-japanese-raiders-give-glimpse-whats-come-lively-sha-tin-tune?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/3040569/hkir-japanese-raiders-give-glimpse-whats-come-lively-sha-tin-tune?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Dec 2019 07:36:01 +0000 The best thing about the presence of True Self in Sunday’s Longines Hong Kong Vase is that she brings with her a piece of racing royalty, the iconic Irish training wizard Willie Mullins. Mullins, now 63, is a legend in the jumps racing scene in Ireland. He’s a 13-time champion trainer in the national hunt ranks and in recent years has been taking all that renowned expertise and making a substantial mark on the flat scene as well. Just last month, Mullins trained his first winner in Australia... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/3040375/hkir-former-hurdler-true-self-brings-willie-mullins-wizardry-sha-tin?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/3040375/hkir-former-hurdler-true-self-brings-willie-mullins-wizardry-sha-tin?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Dec 2019 08:02:15 +0000 Irish Derby winner Latrobe adds an intriguing dimension to Sunday’s Longines Hong Kong Vase, as only the second winner of that Irish classic winner to participate on Hong Kong’s feature day. That intrigue spilled over to Friday’s trackwork session, when Latrobe worked a steady 1,200m on the all-weather track. His times may have been unspectacular but the fluency and athleticism of the colt was on display for all to see. The full gallop took 1:23.4, the last 400m in 26.8 seconds without Latrobe... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/2176899/hkir-fine-tuned-latrobe-looks-further-frank-european-classic-form-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/2176899/hkir-fine-tuned-latrobe-looks-further-frank-european-classic-form-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Dec 2018 07:51:56 +0000 One of the most potent combinations in world racing – owner Prince Khalid Abdullah, trainer Sir Michael Stoute and jockey Ryan Moore – grabbed centre stage at Sha Tin on Thursday morning and quietly demonstrated that they’ll be leading players in Sunday’s Longines Hong Kong Vase. This is the trio who had Workforce, winner of the Derby and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in season 2010, and each has been a huge achiever in his own right in the intervening eight years. And now they are reunited with... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/2176753/hkir-mirage-dancer-purrs-nicely-potent-trio-combine-hong-kong-vase-tilt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/2176753/hkir-mirage-dancer-purrs-nicely-potent-trio-combine-hong-kong-vase-tilt?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Dec 2018 10:39:14 +0000 When trainer Yoshito Yahagi decided to gallop his Group One stars Mozu Ascot and Lys Gracieux together at Sha Tin on Wednesday, he also gave racing fans from all over the world a special treat – pitting jockeys Christophe Lemaire and Joao Moreira against each other. The gallop was a pure study of excellence as the chestnut Mozu Ascot and the black filly Lys Gracieux went stride for stride down the home straight on the course proper, with neither of their champion jockeys asking for anything too... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/2176496/hkir-joao-moreira-and-christophe-lemaire-put-show-aboard-star-japanese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/2176496/hkir-joao-moreira-and-christophe-lemaire-put-show-aboard-star-japanese?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Dec 2018 07:32:10 +0000 Brilliant Japanese staying mare Crocosmia took no prisoners at Sha Tin on Tuesday morning, setting a high early benchmark for the week ahead with a momentous turf gallop that would have been worthy of the highest-rated gallopers at the meeting. Crocosmia, a bold front-runner in her homeland, showed all her renowned speed to zip through an 800m gallop in 49 seconds, but that useful overall time only serves to mask the majesty of the work. The true merit of this piece was to be found in the finer... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/2176352/hkir-crocosmia-throws-down-gauntlet-hong-kong-vase-rivals-sizzling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/2176352/hkir-crocosmia-throws-down-gauntlet-hong-kong-vase-rivals-sizzling?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Dec 2018 09:44:20 +0000 The Jockey Club trumps were thrilled when connections of Poet’s Word accepted an invitation to compete at the “turf world championships” and on Friday morning at Sha Tin, the handsome young stallion further underlined his Longines Hong Kong Cup claims. The growing prestige of Hong Kong’s international day is measured, in part, by the recognition of the major players in the European turf world and they do not come much more major than the trainer of Poet’s Word, Sir Michael Stoute. Stoute, 72, is... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/2123453/poetry-motion-michael-stoutes-young-hong-kong-cup-contender-word?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/2123453/poetry-motion-michael-stoutes-young-hong-kong-cup-contender-word?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Dec 2017 05:36:16 +0000 Highland Reel retires to stud after attempting to cement an amazing legacy in his third attempt on the HK$18 million Longines Hong Kong Vase on Sunday and he stood out among a record 18 turf gallops at the trackwork session on Thursday morning. His two previous forays resulted in a brave win as a three-year-old in 2015, and last year’s fighting second at the end of a memorable duel with Japanese star Satono Crown – a battle which left the third horse One Foot In Heaven almost seven lengths in... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/2123349/unflappable-highland-reel-primed-cement-legacy-one-final-tilt-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/2123349/unflappable-highland-reel-primed-cement-legacy-one-final-tilt-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Dec 2017 09:26:14 +0000 Trainer Tony Cruz is not only the living legend of Hong Kong racing, he is repeatedly proved his status as a trainer against the best on the planet in the week where Hong Kong invites the world to dine at its table. This year, Cruz has representatives in all four international races and that includes defending Longines Hong Kong Mile champion Beauty Only, who will attempt to become only the second repeat winner of the Mile (Good Ba Ba won three straight from 2007 to 2009). On Wednesday morning... https://www.scmp.com/sport/article/2123124/tony-cruz-sharpens-hong-kong-mile-champ-beauty-only-blistering-burst-sha-tin?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/article/2123124/tony-cruz-sharpens-hong-kong-mile-champ-beauty-only-blistering-burst-sha-tin?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Dec 2017 06:42:12 +0000 Those members of the school that had Max Dynamite down as “too slow” to win a LonginesHong Kong Vase this weekend were decidedly quiet on Tuesday after the global traveller reeled off an amazing gallop at Sha Tin. Max Dynamite, visiting from Ireland via Melbourne, was down to have his penultimate gallop before the Sunday’s race for the distance horses. Not that Max Dynamite would think of 2,400 metres as any sort of distance test. Max Dynamite turned in a piece that would have left any local... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/2122958/having-blast-hong-kong-vase-hope-max-dynamite-shows-he-also-has-sprint?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/2122958/having-blast-hong-kong-vase-hope-max-dynamite-shows-he-also-has-sprint?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Dec 2017 07:41:42 +0000 Aidan O’Brien has prepared the winners of an amazing 22 Group One races worldwide in 2016, bringing his career tally to 293, and the Irish training wizard continues to amaze with his unorthodox ways. O’Brien, the private trainer for the Coolmore Stud organisation, won the Longines Hong Kong Vase last year with Highland Reel and the tungsten-tough colt is back in a bid to round off an amazing 12 months of top level racing. The Longines Hong Kong International Races is a unique assembly of world... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/2053300/aidan-obriens-highland-reel-primed-defend-longines-hong-kong-vase-crown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/2053300/aidan-obriens-highland-reel-primed-defend-longines-hong-kong-vase-crown?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Dec 2016 10:29:10 +0000 Reigning Japan Horse of the Year Maurice may seek to dethrone him but Hong Kong Cup titleholder A Shin Hikari gave notice on Thursday that he won’t be abdicating his Sha Tin crown without a fight. In a trackwork session that fairly bristled with quality, A Shin Hikari put his rivals on a grave warning that the passing of 12 months has done little to dim his brilliance. Under a bright blue autumn sky, the grey son of the immortal Deep Impact turned in a gallop for the ages, breaking 48 seconds... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/2052976/defending-hong-kong-cup-champ-shin-hikari-shines-sterling-trackwork?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/2052976/defending-hong-kong-cup-champ-shin-hikari-shines-sterling-trackwork?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Dec 2016 10:09:32 +0000 Japan grabbed two more chapters of HKIR history last year, to add to its already-impressive resume at Hong Kong’s end-of-season showpiece, and the curiously named Nuovo Record may well be adding to it at Sha Tin on Sunday. The good-looking chestnut mare, sporting her familiar green hood and shadow roll, grabbed the lion’s share of attention at the track on Wednesday morning with a double-value training session – she was one of the first to work and one of the last as well. Nuovo Record was... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/2052612/japanese-hong-kong-vase-contender-nuovo-record-standout-trackwork-twice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/2052612/japanese-hong-kong-vase-contender-nuovo-record-standout-trackwork-twice?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Dec 2016 09:38:57 +0000 Grey sprinter Pure Sensation ambled toward the turn out of the back straight at Sha Tin on Tuesday morning and confirmed his nationality as in a matter of strides. It was like he raised a poster-sized passport, accompanied by a 25-piece brass band and a rousing chorus of the Star-Spangled Banner. Pure Sensation, winner of seven of his 19 starts in the United States, hit the turn approaching the 800m on the turf track and wanted to keep going straight. At least his body wanted to keep going... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/2052180/hong-kong-sprint-hope-pure-sensation-not-all-right-sha-tin?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/2052180/hong-kong-sprint-hope-pure-sensation-not-all-right-sha-tin?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Dec 2016 07:49:13 +0000 Highland Reel could be the horse to turn around a set of horror stats for champion trainer Aidan O’Brien as the Irishman chases down his first win at the Longines Hong Kong International Races. O’Brien, 46, has been the champion trainer of Ireland 18 times and is closing in on 250 career Group Ones, 16 of which have come in 2015. Compared to those towering achievements (which include 57 British or Irish classics), his Hong Kong account is - how to put this politely - barren. Highland Reel,... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1889772/14-years-trying-and-yet-win-hkir-aidan-obrien-puts-his-faith-highland?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1889772/14-years-trying-and-yet-win-hkir-aidan-obrien-puts-his-faith-highland?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Dec 2015 09:45:30 +0000 The princes and the pretenders have enjoyed plenty of air time this week but today at Sha Tin, it was a set of kings who stood tall and announced to the world that their thrones, while legitimately up for grabs, would not be surrendered easily. Flintshire, the defending title holder for the Longines Hong Kong Vase, has kept Sha Tin abuzz with his almost regal presence, barely making time on any given morning but with no real need to prove himself, either. And for those who thought the incumbent... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1889318/kings-will-not-abdicate-without-fight-flintshire-and-designs-rome?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1889318/kings-will-not-abdicate-without-fight-flintshire-and-designs-rome?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Dec 2015 10:30:30 +0000 The contrasting styles of horsemen from different parts of the globe were on display at Sha Tin yesterday and a quick burst of La Marseillaise was almost audible as Gailo Chop completed an attractive piece of work that confirmed his claims to Sunday's Longines Hong Kong Cup. Gailo Chop worked solo over 1,200 metres and his rider was not shy about telegraphing his intentions, sending the chestnut from a walk to a full gallop in a matter of strides at the top of the back stretch. Gailo Chop is a... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1889099/diamond-gailo-chop-looks-finished-goods?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1889099/diamond-gailo-chop-looks-finished-goods?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Dec 2015 16:30:15 +0000 As Japan descends upon Sunday's international meeting, one of their big guns will be Straight Girl in the Hong Kong Sprint, and the mare was giving off plenty of positive vibes during a routine spin at Sha Tin yesterday. It wasn't so much what she did, but rather the way she did it. The multiple Group One winner literally strolled over 800 metres in 56.5 seconds, the last 400m in 25.36 and made it look like a walk in the park. The last time she worked on the turf at Sha Tin was a year ago, so... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1888733/straight-shooter-japanese-mare-has-her-eye-sprint-prize?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1888733/straight-shooter-japanese-mare-has-her-eye-sprint-prize?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Dec 2015 15:43:08 +0000 Improving but not there yet. That was the optimistic treatment with which we've painted the Sha Tin gallop yesterday of Green Mask, America's globetrotting candidate for this year's Longines Hong Kong Sprint. They have years of training their muscles for this specific task and they don't actually have the muscles to make their chassis track the other way Ridden by Joao Moreira as a favour to his friend, trainer Wesley Ward, Green Mask zipped over 800 metres on the main turf track, clocking a... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1888133/green-mask-still-not-putting-his-best-foot-forward?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1888133/green-mask-still-not-putting-his-best-foot-forward?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Dec 2015 15:15:45 +0000 The Jockey Club is justifiably beaming at having a horse owned by the famous Niarchos family racing in Hong Kong for the first time in Sunday's Audemars Piguet QE II Cup, but someone forgot to tell the thoroughbred in question, Smoking Sun, of the significance of the occasion. Smoking Sun, a six-year-old stallion, was quite the lad at trackwork on Thursday, in an altogether uncooperative mood. Racing folk refer to this tendency to prop and refuse as "jacking up", and few traits in animal... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1775735/smoking-sun-proves-be-stubborn-stallion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1775735/smoking-sun-proves-be-stubborn-stallion?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Apr 2015 15:15:30 +0000 The euphoria that accompanied Able Friend's demolition job in last week's Longines Hong Kong Mile has seen the John Moore-trained galloper tagged Hong Kong's highest-rated horse of all time. But a more dispassionate look through history puts the gelding's remarkable win into a more balanced perspective. According to Jockey Club senior handicapper Nigel Gray, Able Friend will be elevated to "126 or 127" on the world rankings. It's higher than either Sacred Kingdom or Good Ba Ba and he will... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1667171/able-friend-great-he-best-best?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1667171/able-friend-great-he-best-best?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Dec 2014 12:30:00 +0000 The Workforce team will turn its attention to Sha Tin on Sunday with a lightly raced staying talent in Snow Sky, who took the honours as star of the morning at headquarters on Friday. Snow Sky, winner of two Group races in England this year, bowled over 1,400 metres on the course proper, increasing the tempo after the 1,000m. He galloped out nicely over the final 800m in 53.3 seconds, the last 400m in 23.76 and the final 200m in 11.46. It was a benchmark for the morning that never looked under... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1661523/snow-sky-sets-benchmark-high-after-gallop?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1661523/snow-sky-sets-benchmark-high-after-gallop?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Dec 2014 14:45:00 +0000 Japanese is undoubtedly flavour of the moment in Hong Kong racing and five-year-old mare Straight Girl yesterday presented her claims for being her country's next big-ticket item. Less than 12 hours after Yuichi Fukunaga landed the Longines International Jockeys' Championship at Happy Valley, Straight Girl reeled off the gallop of the morning in preparation for Sunday's Hong Kong Sprint. The bay mare worked over 1,200 metres on the Sha Tin course proper, running the full distance in one minute,... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1661246/japans-straight-girl-primed-hong-kong-sprint?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1661246/japans-straight-girl-primed-hong-kong-sprint?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Dec 2014 15:00:00 +0000 The towering presence of Flintshire at Sha Tin yesterday was a vivid reminder the "Turf World Championships" are in progress, and the highest-rated thoroughbred at Sunday's meeting was not about to let anyone down. Flintshire has been the elephant in the room at Sha Tin trackwork sessions in recent days - everyone knows who he is, but his rivals prefer to pretend he is not there. But yesterday, the handsome Dansili colt made a statement that was impossible to ignore. The ground here is fast... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1660089/fluid-flintshire-simply-oozes-class-ahead-international-day?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1660089/fluid-flintshire-simply-oozes-class-ahead-international-day?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Dec 2014 15:09:29 +0000 While the majority of the international visitors remained in settling-in mode, reigning Horse of the Year Designs On Rome made an emphatic statement for the home team in a brilliant pre-dawn workout at Sha Tin. With race rider Joao Moreira on board, and partnered by accomplished stablemate Approve, Designs On Rome went 1,200 metres on the course proper in 1 minute and 18.3 seconds. The pair steadied the workout in the middle stages before picking it up approaching the turn. They ran the last... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1659061/designs-rome-right-track-after-stunning-hit-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1659061/designs-rome-right-track-after-stunning-hit-out?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Dec 2014 13:30:51 +0000 He is a winner of the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups, and a dashing hero of the 2011 Hong Kong Vase, yet Dunaden seems to have slid into town well and truly under the radar in 2013. In each of the past two years he has turned in a blistering piece of work on the turf in the lead-up to international day and his critics have been arguing this week that the different approach taken by trainer Mikel Delzangles may indicate all is not well. Dunaden, like most racehorses, sits firmly in the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1374763/dunaden-track-repeat-after-top-work?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1374763/dunaden-track-repeat-after-top-work?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Dec 2013 14:18:53 +0000 One of the less understood benefits of international racing week is the learning we are exposed to, as many of the best trainers around the world descend on Sha Tin and demonstrate the different way they do things. And yesterday, the horse racing professor was Irishman Willie Mullins. Most Hongkongers have little idea of the intricacies of the jumps racing scene and if you wanted to improve on that small repository of knowledge, there would be few better men than 57-year-old Mullins -... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1373933/mullins-offers-masterclass-simenon-workout?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1373933/mullins-offers-masterclass-simenon-workout?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Dec 2013 13:30:00 +0000 It was only a track gallop but it should send the biblical "fear and trembling" through the ranks of Longines Hong Kong Sprint rivals. On Monday, it was Lucky Nine's turn at the headline writing and yesterday, his high-profile Japanese nemesis Lord Kanaloa returned serve - and did not miss. These midweek mornings in the lead-up to the International Races are paradise for horse lovers. Where else can you see so many legitimate Group One horses, working on the same tracks in ideal conditions, just... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1373077/japanese-star-lord-kanaloa-sets-sha-tin-alight?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1373077/japanese-star-lord-kanaloa-sets-sha-tin-alight?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Dec 2013 13:19:50 +0000 John Moore treated the early risers to a champagne piece of trackwork yesterday when Group One winners Military Attack and Dan Excel went stride for stride in a turf gallop of real significance. It may be unfair to call Dan Excel a lesser light, as he's already the clear-cut winner of the Group One Champions Mile last May and he wasn't about to play second fiddle to the reigning Horse of the Year in this match-up either. Handled by regular race rider Weichong Marwing, Dan Excel had the better of... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1372113/dan-excel-stands-military-attack-highlight-gallop?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1372113/dan-excel-stands-military-attack-highlight-gallop?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Dec 2013 13:00:15 +0000 There has been some sort of cloud - let's say wisps of haze - surrounding Michael Stoute's two-horse team, Carlton House and Sea Moon. But those doubts were basically erased yesterday after both horses ran sterling final gallops on the turf track. Carlton House, soon to be the debut runner in Hong Kong for Queen Elizabeth, was the first horse out among the visitors and looked comfortable doing pacework before sliding home his last 600 metres in 36.8 seconds, the last 400 in 23.3 and final 200 in... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1100122/carlton-house-and-sea-moon-show-plenty-gusto?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1100122/carlton-house-and-sea-moon-show-plenty-gusto?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Dec 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Gerald Mosse has raised more than the occasional eyebrow this week as he repeatedly made a case for French filly Siyouma measuring up to the Hong Kong milers, and any lingering doubts about his filly's ability vanished without trace in the wake of a sparkling workout yesterday. If winning international Group Ones is the benchmark criteria this weekend, then Siyouma is right there already, having won at racing's ultimate level at her last two starts at Newmarket (UK) and Woodbine (Canada). On a... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1099226/clear-morning-french-filly-siyouma-serves-breakfast-remember?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1099226/clear-morning-french-filly-siyouma-serves-breakfast-remember?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Dec 2012 16:00:00 +0000 One racing wag says French master Andre Fabre invented the old idiom "loose lips sink ships", and a recent 24th title as the champion trainer of France suggests not many vessels have been sunk on his extended watch. So it's not easy, at home in France or on Fabre's occasional forays into foreign lands, to get the inside running on his horses. But the facts on this occasion tend to speak for themselves as the 66-year-old master's Hong Kong Vase contender, Meandre, has been "missing in action"... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1098260/mia-meandre-finally-gets-test-waters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1098260/mia-meandre-finally-gets-test-waters?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Dec 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Xtension heads into Sunday's showcase meeting with impeccable credentials as the host city's big-occasion miler and he further underlined his claims to a third international Group One title. Trainer John Moore gave the dual Champions Mile hero a stern workout on the Sha Tin turf track shortly before 7am but the handsome near-black stallion made light work of the task, completing 1,200 metres in the excellent time of 1 minute 16.2 seconds. Xtension was ridden by Neil Callan and was accompanied by... https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1097534/xtension-delivers-timely-reminder-hong-kong-mile?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/article/1097534/xtension-delivers-timely-reminder-hong-kong-mile?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Dec 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The temperatures dropped a few degrees at Sha Tin yesterday morning but the rustling of the hedges at 9am had nothing to do with the cooler breezes from the north. It was all about explosive German galloper Zazou flying by as he reeled off a gallop that announced his presence as a live candidate for the HK$20 million Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Cup. Working in company with his compatriot Durban Thunder, Zazou did pacework from the 1,400 metres before stepping on the gas half way round the... https://www.scmp.com/article/987361/flying-zazou-has-speed-spare?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/987361/flying-zazou-has-speed-spare?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000 Melbourne Cup hero Dunaden might be favourite to gain 'gallop of the week' honours, but Japan's Cathay Pacific Hong Vase contender, Trailblazer, would surely have been a big-vote gatherer yesterday. The handsome near-black four-year-old wowed the big breakfast crowd at Sha Tin with the performance of the morning, running a powerful 1,200 metres gallop wide out on the main turf track. Trailblazer, a son of Japan's best middle-distance horse of 2004, Zenno Rob Roy, moved off smartly down the... https://www.scmp.com/article/987259/japans-trailblazer-serves-breakfast-remember?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/987259/japans-trailblazer-serves-breakfast-remember?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000 The Japanese visitors gave an insight into their training strategies at Sha Tin yesterday when three of their international contenders went head and head in a sharp breeze on the all-weather track. Sprinters Stakes heroine Curren Chan led off from the 800 metres, followed four lengths away by Pas de Trois, and a comparable margin back to last year's Triple Crown-winning filly Apapane. Apapane rounded up the two Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint candidates approaching the final 200m and went home... https://www.scmp.com/article/987128/japanese-give-glimpse-unorthodox-methods?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/987128/japanese-give-glimpse-unorthodox-methods?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000 In the wake of a five-length Arc de Triomphe win with Danedream in Paris two months ago, Japanese breeding giant Teryua Yoshida would already be well pleased with his 2011 season but, judging by trackwork at Sha Tin yesterday, 'Miss Consistency' Sahpresa looks like putting her owner in the big-race mix yet again at Sunday's showpiece meeting. While Melbourne Cup hero Dunaden was stealing the headlines with a sizzling piece of work on the course proper, Sahpresa let rip with a quick 800 metres... https://www.scmp.com/article/987004/sahpresa-looks-treat-trackwork?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/987004/sahpresa-looks-treat-trackwork?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000 Khalid Abdullah has enjoyed a stellar year with outstanding three-year-old Workforce and may round off 2010 with another Group One triumph tomorrow, if yesterday's trackwork is anything to go by. The Saudi Arabian prince is the principal of Juddmonte Farm and has owned some of the greatest horses over the past three decades, a list of enormous depth but clearly headed by 1986 European Horse of the Year Dancing Brave. Abdullah will be represented at Sha Tin with Redwood in the Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/article/733037/confidence-soars-redwood-camp-after-blazing-gallop?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/733037/confidence-soars-redwood-camp-after-blazing-gallop?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Dec 2010 16:00:00 +0000 If you didn't know they always work horses in strings, you'd swear the French were running a thimble-and-pea con for track watchers yesterday. But even the distraction of galloping in the same caravan as reigning Hong Kong Cup hero Vision d'Etat failed to deflect the spotlight from outstanding three-year-old Planteur. Although five of the French candidates for Sunday's meeting worked off in an elongated string, with around 10-12 lengths separating each horse, it was Planteur's star that shone... https://www.scmp.com/article/732931/planteur-underlines-his-cup-credentials?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/732931/planteur-underlines-his-cup-credentials?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Jaguar Mail is an important horse on Sunday in terms of ongoing Japanese participation in the December showpiece meeting and a strong track gallop yesterday suggests he won't be letting down either the Jockey Club or his homeland. Jaguar Mail will be contesting the Vase (2,400m) for the third successive year and the clean-winded stayer looks right on song after a smooth gallop on the turf. The athletic six-year-old stallion moved off tentatively, as he tends to do, but his action... https://www.scmp.com/article/732835/jaguar-mail-can-do-japan-proud?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/732835/jaguar-mail-can-do-japan-proud?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:00:00 +0000 In a city rarely exposed to distance racing, Americain's trackwork yesterday was of the marathon variety. Appropriately, the post-gallop recovery of Sunday's short-priced Hong Kong Vase favourite would have done justice to the great marathoner Haile Gebrselassie himself. Race rider Gerald Mosse walked Americain from the quarantine stables at the south of Sha Tin to the top of the 1,800-metre chute at the diagonally opposite end. With a graceful 180-degree turn, the world's best stayer moved... https://www.scmp.com/article/732728/americains-work-regime-out-ordinary?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/732728/americains-work-regime-out-ordinary?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Trainer Mike de Kock has been involved in a race against time with Eagle Mountain over the past three weeks, but yesterday, for the first time, the reigning Hong Kong Cup hero gave the right signs he just might recapture his sparkling form of 12 months ago. Race jockey Kevin Shea took Eagle Mountain out and gave the son of Rock of Gibraltar a stirring bit of speed work on the all-weather track. It started out innocently enough, moving off from the 800 metres, but Shea opened him right up in the... https://www.scmp.com/article/701076/eagle-mountain-shows-hes-back-business-title-defence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/701076/eagle-mountain-shows-hes-back-business-title-defence?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Japan's Queen Spumante may be the perceived bunny that rival trainers hope to follow in the HK$20 million Hong Kong Cup, but the filly fired off a warning statement yesterday aimed at those who might disrespect her. Queen Spumante's owners at Green Farm already have a Group One trophy on the mantelpiece, courtesy of her all-the-way victory at Kyoto on November 15, and a power-packed workout this time shows the five-year-old has maintained the rage. Queen Spumante began her serious work 1,800... https://www.scmp.com/article/700949/queen-spumante-puts-her-best-foot-forward?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/700949/queen-spumante-puts-her-best-foot-forward?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:00:00 +0000 The powerful French team enchanted and teased the fans at Sha Tin yesterday but the horses they most wanted to see, highly rated Vision d'Etat, remains a concealed hand. The French are always serious players at Hong Kong's showcase meetings, with four Vases and a Cup having made their way back through Paris this last decade and therefore any intelligence that can be gained about them in these few days is valuable. Elie Lellouche, a past winner of the Hong Kong Vase with Vallee Enchantee (2003),... https://www.scmp.com/article/700787/trackwork-throws-little-light-vision-detat-keeps-everyone-dark?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/700787/trackwork-throws-little-light-vision-detat-keeps-everyone-dark?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:00:00 +0000 The only thing missing was a rousing chorus of Waltzing Matilda as the multiple Group One winners Racing To Win, Apache Cat and Scenic Blast put everyone on notice that this year's Australian contingent is not only well credentialed, but properly prepared for action. Horses from Down Under have been thin on the ground at the Sha Tin December showpiece in recent years, with dual Sprint hero Falvelon the last winner of any of the four features back in 2001. Yet this year promises to be different,... https://www.scmp.com/article/700678/racing-win-shows-australian-raiders-mean-business?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/700678/racing-win-shows-australian-raiders-mean-business?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:00:00 +0000 The new-term focus for Derby hero Collection has shifted sharply, with the intended mission of landing the Group One Cox Plate in Melbourne already scrapped in favour of the Cathay Pacific International races in December. Trainer John Moore has made no secret of his career ambition to prepare a Group One winner on foreign soil (after three frustrating seconds) but has shelved the planned Cox Plate assault in favour of the Jockey Club's December showcase. However, international plans are merely... https://www.scmp.com/article/690097/collection-foregoes-cox-plate-home-glory?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/690097/collection-foregoes-cox-plate-home-glory?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Controversial owner John Yuen Se-kit has provided the first shock of the new racing season, admitting yesterday that his champion Good Ba Ba would be removed from the stables of trainer Andreas Schutz. The new trainer selected by Yuen is Derek Cruz, who confirmed that Hong Kong's highest-rated horse of all time would join his string tomorrow. 'The owner rang me, out of the blue, and asked me to train Good Ba Ba this season,' Cruz said. 'It was a very big surprise, for sure, but I'm... https://www.scmp.com/article/689290/out-luck-schutz-loses-ba-ba?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/689290/out-luck-schutz-loses-ba-ba?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Aug 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Thanks to the champion Good Ba Ba, graduates of Hong Kong's international sale maintained a positive profile across the season, but the search for the next Good Ba Ba is proving to be both protracted and elusive. The star of the Andreas Schutz stable was the first horse to sweep the major mile races in 2007-08 and was on his way to something similar this term. But the good fortune that had blessed him for the previous 18 months went missing at the back end of the term, and a wet track for the... https://www.scmp.com/article/685839/ba-ba-great-running-advertisement-sale-who-next?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/685839/ba-ba-great-running-advertisement-sale-who-next?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Jul 2009 16:00:00 +0000