Queen Elizabeth II Cup

Last updated

THE FWD Queen Elizabeth II Cup
Group 1 race
20240428 G1 QEII Cup RW.jpg
2024 winner Romantic Warrior
Location Sha Tin Racecourse
Hong Kong
Inaugurated1975
Race type Flat / Thoroughbred
Sponsor FWD Group
Website Queen Elizabeth II Cup
Race information
Distance2,000 meters
(About 10 furlongs / 1+14 miles)
SurfaceTurf
TrackRight-handed
QualificationThree-years-old and up
Weight119 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.

Contents

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.

Winners since 1995

YearWinnerAgeJockeyTrainer
(Trained In)
OwnerTime
1995 Red Bishop 7 Michael Kinane Hilal Ibrahim (UAE) Ali Saeed 2:17.20
1996 Overbury 5 Frankie Dettori Saeed bin Suroor (UAE) Godolphin 2:14.50
1997 London News 5 Douglas Whyte Alec Laird (South Africa) Laurie & Jean Jaffee 2:00.30
1998 Oriental Express 5 Douglas Whyte Ivan W. Allan (Hong Kong) Larry Yung Chi Kin 2:01.00
1999 Jim And Tonic 5 Gerald Mosse François Doumen (France)John D. Martin2:00.10
2000 Industrialist 4 Alan Munro Brian Kan Ping-chee (Hong Kong) A. Hu Si Nok & P. Wong Yau Ming 2:02.10
2001 Silvano 5 Andreas Suborics Andreas Wöhler (Germany) Stiftung Gestüt Fährhof 2:03.10
2002 Eishin Preston 5 Yuichi Fukunaga Shuji Kitahashi (Japan) Toyomitsu Hirai 2:02.50
2003 Eishin Preston 6 Yuichi Fukunaga Shuji Kitahashi (Japan) Toyomitsu Hirai 2:03.80
2004 River Dancer 5 Glyn Schofield John Size (Hong Kong) Ronald Arculli 2:01.40
2005 Vengeance of Rain 4 Anthony Delpech David Ferraris (Hong Kong) Chow Nam & R. G. Chow Hon Man 2:01.80
2006 Irridescence 5 Weichong Marwing Mike de Kock (South Africa) Team Valor 2:02.00
2007 Viva Pataca 5 Michael Kinane John Moore (Hong Kong) Stanley Ho Hung-Sun2:01.90
2008 Archipenko 4 Kevin Shea Mike de Kock (South Africa) Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum 2:00.80
2009 Presvis 5 Ryan Moore Luca Cumani (Great Britain) Leonidas Marinopoulos 2:02.97
2010 Viva Pataca 8 Weichong Marwing John Moore (Hong Kong) Stanley Ho Hung-Sun2:04.97
2011 Ambitious Dragon 4 Douglas Whyte Tony Millard (Hong Kong)Lam Pui Hung2:02.23
2012 Rulership 5 Umberto Rispoli Katsuhiko Sumii (Japan) Sunday Racing Co Ltd 2:02.38
2013 Military Attack 5 Tommy Berry John Moore (Hong Kong)Mr & Mrs Steven Lo Kit Sing2:02.15
2014 Designs on Rome 4 Tommy Berry John Moore (Hong Kong)Cheng Keung Fai2:01.06
2015Blazing Speed6 Neil Callan Tony Cruz (Hong Kong)Fentons Racing Syndicate2:02.89
2016Werther4 Hugh Bowman John Moore (Hong Kong)Johnson Chen2:01.32
2017 Neorealism 6 João Moreira Noriyuki Hori (Japan) U Carrot Farm 2:04.59
2018 Pakistan Star 5 William Buick Tony Cruz (Hong Kong)Kerm Din2.00.21
2019 Win Bright 5 Masami Matsuoka  [ ja ]Yoshihiro Hatakeyama (Japan)Win Co Ltd1:58.81
2020 Exultant 6 Zac Purton Tony Cruz (Hong Kong)Eddie Wong Ming Chak & Wong Leung Sau Hing2:00.00
2021 Loves Only You 5 Vincent Ho Chak-yiu Yoshito Yahagi (Japan) DMM Dream Club 2:01.22
2022 Romantic Warrior 4 Karis Teetan Danny Shum Chap-shing (Hong Kong)Peter Lau Pak Fai2:00.13
2023 Romantic Warrior 5 James McDonald Danny Shum Chap-shing (Hong Kong)Peter Lau Pak Fai2:01.92
2024 Romantic Warrior 6 James McDonald Danny Shum Chap-shing (Hong Kong)Peter Lau Pak Fai2:01.02

Earlier winners

Trophy Queen Elizabeth II Cup (trophy) 20240428.jpg
Trophy

See also

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References