By Alan Carasso
Officials at the Singapore Turf Club have announced that this year's Kranji Mile has been elevated to an invitational status and will be open to as many as four selected international runners. As such, the prize money for the 1600m feature will be raised from S$1 million to S$1.5 million, making it the richest event on the local racing calendar for 2018.
“We are exhilarated to put Singapore racing back on the world map and believe the way to do so is to offer better incentives and bigger prizemoney to attract the world's top horses, owners, trainers and jockeys to Singapore,” said Chong Boo Ching, President and Chief Executive of the Singapore Turf Club. “This year's Kranji Mile will be a window into the international races in 2019 to drum up early interest and anticipation among the local and international racing communities. It is an exciting step forward in Singapore Turf Club's plan to uplift the quality of Singapore racing.”
In addition to the purse hike, the first locally based horse home will be eligible for a bonus of S$100,000, while the second to pass the post will be eligible for an S$50,000 bonus.
In September 2015, the S$3-million G1 Singapore Airlines International Cup (2000m) and S$1-million G1 KrisFlyer International Sprint (1200m) were abruptly canceled, with STC officials saying that the races had “accomplished the objectives” that were set out when the races were created in 2000 and 2001, respectively. The two events had been dominated in recent years by Hong Kong shippers. Within the context of a complete overhaul of the racing structure in Singapore, Club officials announced last September the reintroduction of international races for 2019, when the Kranji Mile will carry purse money of S$3 million and the Lion City Cup (1200m) will offer S$1.35 million.
The Kranji Mile, won in 2017 by subsequent Horse of the Year Infantry (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}), and the S$1-million Lion City Cup are scheduled this year for Sunday, May 20, and are positioned to attract plenty of interest from sprinters and milers based in Hong Kong. The G1 Champions Mile and G1 Chairman's Sprint Prize are set for Sunday, Apr. 29, at Sha Tin Racecourse.
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