Horse Racing

History tells us that when one darling of the Hong Kong turf fades into the sunlight, almost invariably--though not to be taken for granted--another one appears. Fairy King Prawn (Aus) was the marquee Hong Kong galloper at the turn of the century and it wasn't long after that Silent Witness (Aus) took the jurisdiction by storm, embarking on a 17-race winning streak that included back-to-back runnings of the G1 Hong Kong Sprint in 2003-2004. A Derby win often paves the path to Hong Kong super-stardom, and such was the case...

Having broken into the racecalling business nearly a quarter-century ago, Mark McNamara has worked his way up from describing the action at Moruya in southeastern New South Wales in Australia to becoming one of the primary voices of New Zealand racing from 2009 to 2019. McNamara, now in his early 40s, returned for a short time to Australia, but the job of chief commentator for the Hong Kong Jockey Club came open in late 2019 when Brett Davis announced that he would be returning to Adelaide to take a similar...

Christophe Soumillon will miss Sunday's Hong Kong International Races meeting after failing to secure an 'unconditional' release from the 14-day quarantine he has been undertaking in Hong Kong. Having been granted a short-term riding contract with the Hong Kong Jockey Club set to begin HKIR day Dec. 13 and last through Feb. 14, Soumillon--who tested positive for COVID-19 at the Breeders' Cup in Kentucky early last month--arrived Nov. 26. A release from the Club Thursday evening indicated that even though Soumillon had cleared his first COVID-19 test upon his arrival,...

A total of 39 horses representing Hong Kong, Japan, Ireland and France were entered and barriers drawn Thursday morning for Sunday's HK$95 million Longines Hong Kong International Races meeting at Sha Tin Racecourse. Although Boniface Ho's Classique Legend (Aus) (Not A Single Doubt {Aus}) has yet to win a race at Group 1 level--he is a multiple Group 2 winner in Australia--he is one of the marquee horses of this year's HKIR, having arrived in Hong Kong on the back of a dominating victory in the A$15-million The Everest at...

For the second time in four years, Zac Purton, Hong Kong's leading jockey in each of the last three seasons, hoisted the trophy following the Longines International Jockeys' Championship held Wednesday evening at Happy Valley Racecourse. But a fair bit of the spotlight shone upon Hollie Doyle, who capped a fairytale season with a victory in the fourth and final leg of the series, good for a share of third place in the competition. The 24-year-old, who along with her partner Tom Marquand was part of a six-strong European contingent,...

A good horse can come from anywhere, can come in all shapes and sizes. Perhaps no horse in the history of the Hong Kong turf embodies that idea more than the diminutive, but wildly talented California Memory (Highest Honor {Fr}--Kalpita, by Spinning World). Brookdale Farm's Fred Seitz acquired Kalpita privately after she was led out unsold on a bid of 48,000gns at Tattersalls December in 2005 and the mare foaled a grey colt Mar. 2, 2006. Hailing from the female family of champions Bosra Sham (Woodman) and Hector Protector (Woodman),...

Barree Stable's Singapore-based Inferno (Aus) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) has been scratched from Sunday's G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin after being found to be lame in his left front leg by Hong Kong Jockey Club veterinarians Tuesday. Very little went as planned for Inferno on his trip over to Hong Kong. The air conditioning in the horse float that transported Inferno from Kranji Racecourse to Changi Airport about 30 minutes away broke down and the horse was subjected to the heat for three hours. He then had...

Edited Press Release, Vicky Van Camp, author Congaree (Arazi--Mari's Sheba, by Arazi), a Grade I winner at seven, eight, nine and 10 furlongs, was euthanized due to the infirmities of old age Nov. 22, according to a release from Valor Farm in Texas. He was 22 years old. Congaree was owned and bred by the late Robert McNair and his wife Janice's Stonerside Farm and barely survived his foaling, weighing in at a sizeable 152 pounds, suffering several broken ribs in the ordeal. Eventually put into training with Bob Baffert,...

Fan favorite Bodexpress (Bodemeister--Pied a Terre, by City Zip), recent winner of the GI Clark H. at Churchill Downs Nov. 27, has been retired after suffering an undisclosed, career-ending injury in the race, according to a tweet late Sunday from trainer and part-owner Gustavo Delgado. "With great regret, we announce the retirement of Bodexpress," the tweet read. "He suffered a career-ending injury while winning the G1 Clark Handicap. A very talented colt, who finally showed his potential at CD. Thank you Bode for the journey & memories. To his fans,...

Bob Baffert was favored to win his fourth straight renewal of the GI Starlet S. at Los Alamitos Saturday...just with a different horse. Grade I-winning 'TDN Rising Star' Princess Noor (Not This Time) was favored to rebound off a fifth in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Nov. 6, but instead was pulled up and her stablemate Varda (Distorted Humor) took up the baton, springing a 17-1 upset. It was also the fourth consecutive Starlet victory for winning pilot Drayden Van Dyke and the second for Susan and Charlie Chu's...

True Timber (Mineshaft) has been knocking at the door of a Grade I win throughout his career, including in-the-money finishes in the last two renewals of the GI Cigar Mile H. The Calumet Farm runner broke through at the highest level in a big way at Aqueduct Saturday, romping in the mud to take this year's edition of the prestigious Cigar Mile. With his last victory coming in a Belmont optional claimer in September of 2018, True Timber was overlooked at 7-1 in this event, which lost three contenders Saturday...

'TDN Rising Star' Malathaat (Curlin) did not look like a winner through the first mile of Aqueduct's GII Demoiselle S., but turned things around late with a surprisingly strong rally to keep her perfect record in tact. Away well from her rail draw, the 2-5 favorite settled in a ground-saving third as an eager Traffic Lane took control, clicking off a :23.69 first quarter with Juddmonte homebred Millefeuille (Curlin) pressing from second. Losing some traction as the half went in :48.50, the $1.05-million KEESEP buy was passed by Malibu Curl...