Conghua

The scene is unmistakably Hong Kong. A field of high-class Thoroughbreds thunders down a lush turf straight, the pounding of hooves echoing against a grandstand and a large diamond-vision screen. To a casual viewer with no sound on, this is racing at Sha Tin. But as the horses pull up, no skyscrapers loom over the backstretch, and the stands are desperately empty. There is no Shing Mun River here; it is a barrier trial at Conghua, and for the horses involved, the transition between these two worlds has become part...

Justifying (Aus) (Justify) became his dual-hemisphere stallion's third Hong Kong winner with a dazzling debut display down the 1000-meter straight course in Sunday's opening race at Sha Tin Racecourse. An A$100,000 graduate of the 2023 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale, the bay was led out unsold for the same amount at that year's Inglis Ready2Race [Breeze-Up] Sale and was turned over to trainer Vincent Nolan for his initial racetrack prep. The late October foal put his talents on full display when landing a soft-ground jumpout by five lengths at Benalla north...

Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges has been at the helm of the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) since 2007, presiding over a significant expansion of the Asian racing scene. Emmanuel Roussel received an update from the CEO during last weekend's Hong Kong International meeting, with topics including the development of racing at Conghua on the Chinese mainland, and the potential for the HKJC to establish breeding bases in Europe and Australia to boost its supply of Thoroughbreds. Emmanuel Roussel: The international week is always a great event, so close to the festive season....