By Alan Carasso
A dozen of the world's top jockeys will vie for first prize money of HK$500,000 in the Longines International Jockeys' Championship, to be staged at iconic Happy Valley Racecourse on Hong Kong Island Wednesday evening, Dec. 7.
Four locally based riders, including the record-setting Joao Moreira, will square off against eight of their overseas counterparts in the four-race series, in which the contestants earn points for finishing in the top four on a 12-6-4-1 scale.
“The Longines IJC is established as perhaps the world's toughest jockey challenge,” commented Andrew Harding, the Hong Kong Jockey Club's Executive Director, Racing Authority. “It brings together some of the world's very best riders and pitches them into a thrilling contest around Happy Valley's floodlit arena, a track that is as stunning to behold as it is testing to ride around.
Harding continued, “We are delighted to have such a strong line-up of jockeys once again. This year's cast is about as good as it gets. Seven of the confirmed riders for the 2016 IJC are or have been champion jockey in a major jurisdiction and three are past IJC winners.”
In addition to Moreira, who won the 2012 IJC prior to relocating permanently to Hong Kong, previous winners include the United Kingdom's Ryan Moore (2009, 2010) and Gavin Lerena, who snatched victory for South Africa in the final leg of the contest in 2015.
Also signed on are Australia's Hugh Bowman, a three-time champion in Sydney and most notably the regular partner of Horse of the Year Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}); Mirco Demuro, a five-time leading rider in Italy and now hugely successful on the competitive JRA circuit; Keita Tosaki, two-time defending champion jockey in Japan; Dubai World Cup-winning hoop Mickael Barzalona, representing France; Ireland's perennial champion Pat Smullen, who guided Harzand (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) to win the G1 Investec and Irish Derbies in 2016 and approaching 2000 career victories; and Florent Geroux, whose 29 wins in graded stakes is good for a share of the lead in the United States and who will be making his first appearance in the IJC.
The field will be completed by the two highest-ranked jockeys in Hong Kong as of Nov. 23 and the leading Chinese jockey as of the same date.
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