The action late Saturday night / early Sunday morning US time features a quartet of world-renowned stakes in the Hong Kong International Races. Sha Tin’s Group 1 Hong Kong Vase, Hong Kong Sprint, Hong Kong Mile and Hong Kong Cup are part of a 10-race card that gets underway at 11:25 pm ET. The Vase is first up in the stakes at 1:10 am ET and has the most recognizable names to the American simulcast audience.
The Hong Kong Sprint (1:50 am ET) notably included Breeders’ Cup Sprint winners Starlust (2024) and Nobals (2023) among the entries, though the latter reportedly has been scratched due to a fever.
Let’s meet the contenders for the 1-1/2 miles Hong Kong Vase (Race 4):
#1-WITHOUT A FIGHT (pictured, courtesy Sha Tin): 7-year-old won last year’s Group 1 Melbourne Cup and Group 1 Caulfield Cup in Australia and looks to return to peak international form after a tendon injury kept him out of action for most of 2024. He’s had a single prep in November this year for the father-son team of Sam and Anthony Freedman. Regular Aussie pilot Mark Zahra rides the 3-1 morning line favorite.
#2-GIAVELLOTTO: Two-time winner of the Group 2 Yorkshire Cup in England, the 5-year-old exits a third-place finish in the Group 1 Irish St. Leger at The Curragh. First trip to Hong Kong for the veteran of Saudi Arabia and Dubai ventures this season. Expected to appreciate firmer ground and provide a late kick. Oisin Murphy rides for Marco Botti.
#3-LUXEMBOURG: Last year’s Hong Kong Cup runner-up switches lanes to the Vase in his return from Ireland. Off the board in 3 straight since winning May’s Grade 1 Coronation Cup, including a flat sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar. Trainer Aidan O’Brien’s 3 Hong Kong Vase victories are tied with Andre Fabre for most in the race’s history. Ryan Moore’s 3 wins in this race (2015, ’17, ’20) are 1 shy of Olivier Peslier’s Hong Kong Vase record.
#4-DUBAI HONOUR: World traveler has run in France, Germany, England and Hong Kong this year alone, winning the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. Fourth in the 2021 Hong Kong Cup, this will be his fourth venture to Sha Tin, finishing third and seventh in the past 2 editions of the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Cup in the spring. Tom Marquand, best known to American players for winning the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint on Big Evs, is aboard for William Haggas.
#5-IRESINE: 7-year-old didn’t compete in his first Group 1 race until age 5 in France and has since notched races like the Prix Ganay and Prix Foy. Exits a fourth at Ascot in the British Champion. Only time he hasn’t fired was a subpar performance in last year’s Japan Cup, giving some question to a similar road trip. Marie Velon will be aboard for Jean-Pierre Gauvin, who raided to win the Hong Kong Cup on this card in 2016 with Saonois. Striking near-black colt with 4 white socks is an eye-catcher.
#6-MARQUISAT: French-based 4-year-old has lost 5 straight since starting his career 3-for-3. Multiple Group 2 placings are on the ledger as he assumes his toughest task. Trainer Andre Fabre has won the Hong Kong Vase 3 times (tied for the race record with Aidan O’Brien). He looks for back-to-back scores after Junko a year ago. Mickael Barzalona rides in the famed Godolphin blue.
#7-PRADARIA: Japanese runner sired by the legendary Deep Impact won February’s Group 2 Kyoto Kinen, but has been off the board in 3 straight since. Had been aimed for the Japan Cup last month in Tokyo, but was pulled from that race to train up to the Hong Kong Vase. Cristian Demuro rides for Mabu Ikezoe, a former Aidan O’Brien assistant.
#8-FIVE G PATCH: Sha Tin local hasn’t won in his last 18 trips, including a sixth-place finish in the 2023 Hong Kong Vase. Longshot boasts only 2 wins from 27 tries. One of 2 here for Tony Cruz, the former HK champion jockey and champion trainer who saddled 2018 Hong Kong Vase winner Exultant. Brenton Avdulla will be in the saddle.
#9-CONTINUOUS: UK-based, Japanese-bred 4-year-old by Heart’s Cry won the Group 1 British St. Leger and was fifth in the Group 1 Arc de Triomphe in 2023. Just 1-for-5 this season, winning the Group 3 Royal Whip at The Curragh. Trainer Aidan O’Brien’s 3 Hong Kong Vase victories are tied with Andre Fabre for most in the race’s history. Wayne Lordan gets the mount.
#10-LA CITY BLANCHE: Seventh in last year’s Hong Kong Vase, this 6-year-old gelding was a Group 3 winner at Sha Tin in May, but is just 2-for-24 lifetime. Third over the 1-1/2 miles trip locally this spring behind 2-time Breeders’ Cup Turf winner and globetrotter Rebel’s Romance. One of 2 here for Tony Cruz, the former HK champion jockey and champion trainer who saddled 2018 Hong Kong Vase winner Exultant. The rider will be Matthew Chadwick.
#11-KA YING GENERATION: 4-year-old did not debut until New Year’s Day 2024 and has amassed 1 win from 9 starts on the campaign. Promising runner-up last out in the Group 2 Jockey Club Cup at Sha Tin behind reigning HK Horse of the Year Romantic Warrior – who will be heavily favored in the Hong Kong Cup later on the card. Andrea Atzeni is the jockey for Pierre Ng, who led the 2024 Kong Kong training standings with 23 victories coming into the week.
#12-ENSUED: The lone American-bred in the lineup (by Belmont Stakes winner Lemon Drop Kid) has been based in Hong Kong since mid-2023. Fourth most recently in the Group 2 Jockey Club Cup behind reigning HK Horse of the Year Romantic Warrior – who will be heavily favored in the Hong Kong Cup later on the card – and Vase return rival Ka Ying Generation. Has yet to compete at the Group 1 level. Melbourne Cup-winning jockey James McDonald, who won the 2022 and 2023 Hong Kong Cup and seeks his first HK Vase victory, rides for John Size.
#13-STELLENBOSCH: 3-year-old filly faces elder males and represents Japan, which has won the Hong Kong Vase 2 of the last 3 years and 4 of the last 8. She won the Group 1 Oka Sho in April over a mile and was runner-up at this 1-1/2 miles trip in the Yushun Himba in May. Jockey Joao Moreira seeks a fourth Hong Kong Vase win (victories in 2016, ’19, ’21), which would tie Olivier Peslier for the race’s all-time mark. Two 3-year-old fillies have won this race in its 30 renewals.
.svg){kind=logo}
