2017 2u241a
The Hong Kong Jockey Club advised this week that the Hong Kong’s Centenary Sprint Cup has attained Group 1 status ahead of the 2017/18 Hong Kong season and will carry a purse of HK$10 million, a HK$2 million increase that aligns its value with other Group 1 events staged at Sha Tin Racecourse.
Asian Federation member South Africa held its largest race meeting last Saturday, the 121st renewal of the Durban July sponsored by Vodacom at Greyville, and the impact of the meeting was substantial not just on the track, but throughout the KwaZulu-Natal economy.
At this year’s South Africa’s major race meeting, the Vodacom Durban July, the local racing industry might just have another serious goal to contemplate, the final break-through of its tough export quarantine restrictions.
Asian Racing Federation jockeys have been travelling and winning over the past two weeks with first South African apprentice Callan Murray successful at both Happy Valley and Sha Tin during his recent Hong Kong short term riding contract and then South Korean jockey Moon Se Young winning at Kranji last Friday night.
Final Boss (KOR), last year’s Korean Champion Juvenile showed precisely why he earned that title, with a last to first victory in the 20th Korean Derby (KOR G1) over 1800m at Seoul Racecourse on Sunday, 14 May.
Japan’s reigning Horse of the Year, Kitasan Black (JPN) [121] led Asian Racing Federation countries in the latest LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings (For three-year-olds and upwards which raced between 1st January and 7th May 2017) released this week.
A tactical piece of brilliance from Hong Kong’s champion jockey Joao Moreira secured a Japanese victory for the Noriyuki Hori trained Neorealism (JPN) in the HK$20m, Group 1 Audemars Piguet QEII Cup (2000m) at Sha Tin on Sunday.
Asian Racing Federation countries featured in the latest LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings (For three-year-olds and upwards which raced between 1st January and 9th April 2017).
The imperious Australian racemare Winx (AUS) lived right up to her star billing in the Group 1, Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) with another awe-inspiring victory in front of a record crowd at Randwick on Saturday.