Moore Honored at HKIR GALA

Jockey Ryan Moore was the recipient of the inaugural Longines World’s Best Jockey Award at the gala dinner for the Hong Kong International Races held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center Dec. 12. The British Moore racked up the highest point total in the 100 highest-rated Group 1/Grade I races as determined by the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings Committee from Dec. 1, 2013 until Nov. 30 of this year with 94 points. Victorious in five races on the list this term thanks to Gentildonna (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), The Grey Gatsby (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) (2), Adelaide (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Proctectionist (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}) and with 15 Group 1 or Grade I races across seven countries overall, Moore outfinished runner-up Christophe Soumillon with 88 points and Joseph O’Brien in third with 72 points. The award was presented by the duo of Longines Vice President and Head of International Marketing Juan-Carlos Capelli Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Jockey Club and IFHA Vice-Chairman Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges. 

“Longines is very proud to pay tribute to the incredible athletes that lead horses to accomplish their feats: the jockeys,” said Capelli. “The Longines World’s Best Jockey Award aims to recognize the accomplishments of the most skilled jockeys in the 100 highest-rated Group 1 races all around the world as established by international handicappers.” 

Added Engelbrecht-Bresges, “Great jockeys combine a number of attributes including balance, a sense of pace, instinct, strategy, intelligence, courage and a hunger to win. There can be no doubt that the recipient of the inaugural Longines World’s Best Jockey Award, Ryan Moore, has all of these attributes.” 

For the complete standings go to ifhaonline.org.