The Hong Kong Classic Cup is a Thoroughbred set weights horse race in Hong Kong for four year olds, run over a distance of 1800 metres. The first three finishers in this race have priority to run in the Hong Kong Derby, which is the most prestigious race on the domestic racing calendar. The race was known as the Hong Kong Derby Trial until 2010.
Year | Winner | Age | Jockey | Trainer | Time |
2006 | Hello Pretty | 4 | Gérald Mossé | K W Lui | 1:47.70 |
2007 | Floral Pegasus | 4 | Gérald Mossé | A S Cruz | 1:48.80 |
2008 | Green Birdie | 4 | Olivier Doleuze | Caspar Fownes | 1:48.60 |
2009 | Unique Jewellery | 4 | Olivier Doleuze | John Size | 1:48.93 |
2010 | King Dancer [1] | 4 | Gérald Mossé | S Woods | 1:48.19 |
2011 | Ambitious Dragon | 4 | Maxime Guyon | Anthony Millard | 1:48.03 |
2012 | Zaidan | 4 | Olivier Doleuze | John Moore | 1:48.70 |
2013 | It Has To Be You | 4 | Timothy Clark | John Size | 1:48.91 |
2014 | Designs On Rome | 4 | Tommy Berry | John Moore | 1:47.91 |
2015 | Thunder Fantasy | 4 | Karis Teetan | John Size | 1:48.62 |
2016 | Sun Jewellery | 4 | Ryan Moore | John Size | 1:48.01 |
2017 | Rapper Dragon | 4 | João Moreira | John Moore | 1:46.98 |
2018 | Singapore Sling | 4 | Chad Schofield | Anthony Millard | 1:46.99 |
2019 | Mission Tycoon | 4 | K C Leung | Frankie Lor | 1:47.00 |
2020 | Golden Sixty | 4 | C Y Ho | K W Lui | 1:45.88 |
2021 | Healthy Happy | 4 | Alexis Badel | Frankie Lor | 1:47.21 |
2022 | California Spangle | 4 | Zac Purton | A S Cruz | 1:46.98 |
2023 | Super Sunny Sing | 4 | C Y Ho | W Y So | 1:46.26 |
1 The 2010 winner King Dancer was later exported to Europe and renamed Uramazin.
The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, often shortened to Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for Thoroughbreds, often restricted to three-year-olds. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment in Thoroughbred racing. The term originated in mid-19th-century England and nations where Thoroughbred racing is popular each have their own Triple Crown series.
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic premise – to identify which of two or more horses is the fastest over a set course or distance – has been mostly unchanged since at least classical antiquity.
Ouija Board was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. She was owned by Edward Stanley, 19th Earl of Derby, and trained by Ed Dunlop and Chris Hinson. In a career spanning four seasons, she won 10 of her 22 races, seven of them Group 1s, including the Oaks in 2004 and the Hong Kong Vase in 2005, while amassing over £3 million in prize money. In 2004, she won the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf and came second to Intercontinental the following year. In 2006, she regained her crown, becoming the second horse to win Breeders' Cup races in non-consecutive years.
Sha Tin Racecourse is one of the two racecourses for horse racing in Hong Kong. It is located in Sha Tin in the New Territories. It is managed by Hong Kong Jockey Club.
Lance Anthony O'Sullivan is a New Zealand Thoroughbred horse trainer and former champion jockey.
The Hong Kong Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Hong Kong which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 2000 metres at Sha Tin, and it is scheduled to take place each year in mid December.
Gérald Mossé is a jockey in thoroughbred horse racing. He began riding professionally in April 1983. His success during his apprenticeship under Patrick-Louis Biancone led to an offer to ride for renowned trainer François Boutin. His stable of horses belonging to Jean-Luc Lagardère. Mossé went on to become one of his country's top jockeys, winning the 1990 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. In 1991, he rode Arazi to five straight wins in France then spent 1992 and part of 1993 racing in Hong Kong.
The Queen Elizabeth II Cup is a Group One Thoroughbred horse race at Sha Tin Racecourse in the New Territories, Hong Kong. Established in 1975 by the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club, it is run annually in April at a distance of 2,000 metres on turf. Prior to 1997 it was run at 2,200 metres. Sponsored by Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet since 1999, it currently offers a purse of HK$20 million (US$2.6 million)since 2014/15.
The Hong Kong Gold Cup is a Group One Hong Kong Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1979 at Sha Tin Racecourse. It is open to horses three years of age and older. Run on turf, it was initially run over a distance of 1,800 metres, but is now set at 2,000 metres and it offers a purse of HK$12,000,000.
The Hong Kong Derby is a Hong Kong Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1873. Restricted to horses four-years-old only since 1981, the race is run in mid-March and is the premier event on the domestic racing programme with a purse of HK$18 million. This race is the last race in the Hong Kong Four-Year-Old ClassicSeries.
The Championship Stakes, run at Ellerslie Racecourse, is a Group 3 horse race run for three-year-olds at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand.
Douglas Whyte is a former horse racing jockey and is now a horse trainer. He became Hong Kong champion jockey in the 2000-2001 season and won 13 consecutive titles, a record in flat racing. In 2013-14, he relinquished that title to Zac Purton, finishing third with 88 wins to give him an accumulated total of more than 1,600 races in Hong Kong with career stake earnings of more than $HK 1.3 billion.
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The Hong Kong Classic Mile is a domestic Group 1 four year old set weights Thoroughbred horse race in Hong Kong, run over a distance of 1600 metres. It was originally a Group 3 race and was the traditional lead-up race for the Hong Kong Derby. In the season of 1999/2000, this race was upgraded to domestic Group 1 status. Now, it is the first of the three major races for the Hong Kong classic generation.
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Able Friend is an Australian-bred, Hong Kong-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. After showing some promise when winning one of his two races in his native country, the gelding was transferred to race in Hong Kong in 2013. In the 2013/2014 season he established himself as one of the best milers in Hong Kong with four wins including the Hong Kong Classic Mile and the Chairman's Trophy from seven races. In the following season his wins in the Jockey Club Mile (2014) and Hong Kong Mile saw him rated among the best racehorses in the world. By the International Ratings of 127, he was officially the highest internationally rated Hong Kong racehorse ever. He was crowned as the Hong Kong Horse of the Year in 2015.
Rapper Dragon, was an Australian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. When racing as a two-year-old in Australia he showed considerable promise as he won one race and finished second in both The Schweppervescence and Champagne Stakes.
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