The G1 Chairman's Sprint Prize, a 1200-meter dash to be contested at Hong Kong's Sha Tin Racecourse Sunday, May 1, has been added to the Global Sprint Challenge (GSC), officials at the Hong Kong Jockey Club announced Tuesday. Raised from local Group 1 status to international Group 1 level in October 2015, the Chairman's Sprint Prize replaces the canceled G1 KrisFlyer International Sprint on the GSC calendar.
Founded in 2005, the Global Sprint Challenge encompasses races in Australia, England, Japan and the United Arab Emirates in addition to Hong Kong, which now plays host to two events in the series. The G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint closes the sequence in December.
“The Chairman's Sprint Prize has played host to some of the great sprinters in Hong Kong, and we now look forward to the added prestige given the status bestowed by the Global Sprint Challenge Committee,” said Bill Nader, Executive Director of Racing for the Hong Kong Jockey Club. “We shifted the race [from February] to May 1 in order to bridge the gap in GSC events between the Dubai Golden Shaheen and Takamatsunomiya Kinen at the end of March and the King's Stand in June.
Nader added, “Some of Hong Kong's best sprinters were two-time winners of the Chairman's Sprint Prize, including the great Silent Witness (Aus), Sacred Kingdom (Aus) and Fairy King Prawn (Aus). More recently, Lucky Nine (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), himself a three-time winner of Global Sprint Challenge events, won consecutive editions of the race. It promises to be a worthy addition to the GSC slate.”
The GSC offers a $1-million bonus to the connections of any horse to land three races in three different jurisdictions. Though none has succeeded in claiming the prize, the Hong Kong-based Aerovelocity (NZ) (Pins {Aus}) won the KrisFlyer and the G1 Sprinters' S. in 2015 and could have earned the bonus in the Hong Kong Sprint, but was forced to miss the race owing to a heart irregularity.
The 2016 Global Sprint Challenge kicks off with the running of the G1 Black Caviar Lightning S. at Flemington Feb. 20.
GLOBAL SPRINT CHALLENGE – 2016
Date, Race, Track
Feb. 20 Black Caviar Lightning S. Flemington
Mar. 26 Dubai Golden Shaheen (dirt) Meydan
Mar. 27 Takamatsunomiya Kinen Chukyo
May 1 Chairman's Sprint Prize Sha Tin
June 14 King's Stand S. Royal Ascot
June 18 Diamond Jubilee S. Royal Ascot
July 9 Darley July Cup Newmarket
Oct. 2 Sprinters' S. Nakayama
Nov. 5 Darley Classic Flemington
Dec. 11 Longines Hong Kong Sprint Sha Tin
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