HKJC

Hong Kong Jockey Club chief Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges has called a review of the Hong Kong International Sale after a string of disappointing results at last Friday's auction at Sha Tin.  Six of the 21 horses in the catalogue were withdrawn before the sale on veterinary advice and the average for the sale dropped by 9%. Furthermore, only five of the 15 lots that sold made their presale cost, resulting in a loss of HK$8.82 million. Speaking to the South China Morning Post, "It's simple-disappointing. I'm especially disappointed about the number...

A gelding by I Am Invincible (Aus) brought top dollar at the Hong Kong Jockey Club's Hong Kong International Sale when selling for HK$5 million (€593,909) to Philip Liu. Sold as lot 12, he is a half-brother to Group 1 winner Summer Passage (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}). I Am Invincible's star progeny to race in Hong Kong include Group 2 winner Wishful Thinker (Aus) and 2024 HKIS graduate Markwin (Aus), who has earned HK$3.76 million, including a HK$1-million ISG Bonus. Second on the buyers' sheet was lot 5, a gelding by...

A raft of measures to further enhance the owner value proposition as applications for the 2025 Horse Ballot open next Monday were announced by the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) on Friday. Current prize-money, including bonuses, are at record highs at an estimated HK$1.73 billion (€213,999,329) across the 2024/25 racing season. The HKJC will introduce in the 2025/26 Hong Kong racing season an extension to the current PP (Previously Raced Horse) Bonus scheme, whereby a horse with a rating higher than or equal to 70 at the time of import...

Total turnover on Saturday's G1 Saudi Cup through World Pool bet types amounted to HK$62.6 million (around £6.4 million), the fourth highest total of all World Pool races since it first entered operation in 2019. That list is headed by the 2023 G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes won by Khaadem (Ire)--for which total turnover reached HK$66.2 million (£6.7 million)--ahead of the 2022 G1 Derby won by Desert Crown (GB) (HK$66.1 million/£6.7 million) and the 2022 G1 Coronation Stakes won by Inspiral (GB) (HK$64.1 million/£6.5 million). The amount staked on...

World Pool returns this weekend with 14 races across meetings in Saudi Arabia, Australia, and Hong Kong, with the world's richest race, the $20-million G1 Saudi Cup the jewel in the crown. Hong Kong Horse of the Year Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) will be trying dirt for the first time in that 1800-metre affair. The globally commingled pools powered by the Hong Kong Jockey Club will be in operation for the third time on Saudi Cup Day, with seven races set to be globally commingled. In 2024, a total...

Michael Fitzsimons, the Hong Kong Jockey Club's executive director, wagering products, has announced his intention to resign from the organisation and move on to new ventures, the HKJC announced on Wednesday. There is a comprehensive plan in place to ensure a smooth transition of operation in the Wagering Products Division. Said the HKJC in a statement, "The Club thanks Mr. Fitzsimons for his contribution to the development of the wagering business of the Club in the past four years." Fitzsimons assisted in the international expansion of the World Pool.

New Zealander James McDonald has won the 2024 Longines World's Best Jockey title with 160 points, the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) announced on Wednesday. McDonald previously won the award in 2022. There was a margin of just 10 points back to Englishman Ryan Moore at 150. Moore, a four-time winner of the title, was clear of William Buick in third with 105 points. A ceremony will be held during a gala dinner of the Longines Hong Kong International Races at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre to...

A strong line up of jockeys have been announced for the 2024 Longines International Jockeys' Championship (IJC) at Happy Valley Racecourse on Wednesday, Dec. 4. The four races are worth a combined HK$7.5-million (£740,000) in prize-money, and there is a total prize fund of HK$1 million in bonus money for the most successful riders split three ways, with the winner set to receive HK$600,000, with HK$250,000 for second and HK$150,000 for third (£60,000, £25,000, and £15,000, respectively). Vincent Ho, who won this contest in 2023, and seven-time Hong Kong Champion...

The number of horses nominated to run at the 2024 edition of the Longines Hong Kong International Races has been boosted to 193 after the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) announced Celestial Legend (Aus) (Dundeel {NZ}) and Sol Oriens (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}), trained in Australia and Japan, respectively, as supplementary entries on Thursday. Celestial Legend and Sol Oriens join the all-star cast of nominations revealed on Wednesday ahead of the flagship meeting which takes place at Sha Tin on Sunday, December 8, with elite performers such as Romantic Warrior...

A truly international cast of 191 horses, among them 58 Group/Grade 1 winners, have been entered for the 2024 edition of the Longines Hong Kong International Races at Sha Tin on Dec. 8. Billed as the 'Turf World Championships', the races will offer record total prize-money of HK$126 million (£12,521,226/€15,043,683/$16,215,920). Group 1 riches will be offered for the following quartet of races:  the HK$40-million Longines Hong Kong Cup (2000m), HK$36-million Longines Hong Kong Mile (1600m), HK$26-million Longines Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) and HK$24-million Longines Hong Kong Vase (2400m). The locals...

Turnover on World Pool bet types across the 12 races from Randwick, Caulfield and Ascot on Saturday reached a record high for a single day's racing, the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) announced on Tuesday. A total of HK$424.1m (around £48m) was staked from over 28 countries, eclipsing the previous record of HK$385.2m (£38m) set when 12 races from the Queensland and Epsom Derby meetings took place under the World Pool banner earlier this year. Ascot's six races on QIPCO British Champions Day generated HK$200m (£19.75m) of the HK$424.1m. Turnover...

World Pool's contribution to British and Irish racecourses has surpassed £50 million since its inception in 2019, the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) announced on Thursday. A total of 580 races across nine different tracks in the UK and Ireland have been globally commingled by the HKJC since the World Pool's inaugural fixture at Royal Ascot in 2019, with the Curragh, Epsom Downs, Goodwood, Leopardstown, Newbury, Newmarket, Sandown Park and York all hosting World Pool racedays. Since its inauguration, the number of World Pool races has increased dramatically, from 30...