![]() | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(February 2014) |
Group 1 race | |
![]() 2024 winner Romantic Warrior | |
Location | Sha Tin Racecourse Hong Kong |
---|---|
Inaugurated | 1975 |
Race type | Flat / Thoroughbred |
Sponsor | FWD Group |
Website | Queen Elizabeth II Cup |
Race information | |
Distance | 2,000 meters (About 10 furlongs / 1+1⁄4 miles) |
Surface | Turf |
Track | Right-handed |
Qualification | Three-years-old and up |
Weight | 119 lb (3y); 126 lb (4y+) Allowances 4 lb for fillies and mares 6 lb for N. Hemisphere 3-y-o |
Purse | HK$25,000,000 (2022) |
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 (ten furlongs) on turf. Prior to 1997 it was run at 2,200 metres (eleven furlongs). 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 Queen Elizabeth II Cup was first run at the Happy Valley Racecourse in Happy Valley, Hong Kong to commemorate a visit to Hong Kong by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. It was a local Class 1 or 2 race over a distance between 1,400 and 1,800 metres until 1995 when it opened to international entries. Since then, Hong Kong horses have been competing against those from the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, France, Japan and Australia. [1]
Since becoming a Group One race in 2001, every winner of the Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup has been a descendant of Northern Dancer. The 2006 race saw Irridescence upset the great filly and European Horse of the Year, Ouija Board.
The Queen Elizabeth II Cup has been sponsored by the Swiss haute horlogerie brand Audemars Piguet for around 17 years now, they continue to make special edition pieces (mostly based on the Royal Oak) to celebrate their sponsorship of the event. They join companies such as Omega SA, Rolex and Longines as one of the official sports event partners that provide both sponsorship and race timers.
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, no overseas horses entered the race in 2020 and this international Group 1 event became a local race.
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.
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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.
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Shantou was a classic-winning Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. As a three-year-old in 1996 he won the St. Leger and the Gran Premio del Jockey Club as well as finishing third in the Epsom Derby and fourth in the Breeders' Cup Turf. In the following year he won the Gran Premio di Milano and the Princess of Wales's Stakes. After his retirement from racing he had success as a sire of National Hunt horses.
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