The Hong Kong Cup is a Group 1 race for 3yo & upward thoroughbreds held annually each December at Sha Tin racecourse in Hong Kong. The race has prizemoney of HK$20,000,000 and is run over a distance of 2,000 metres and is one of the four major races to take place on Hong Kong International Race Day.
The 2011 Hong Kong Cup resulted in a local quinella for Hong Kong horses with California Memory proving too good for Irian second, with German galloper Zazou finishing third.
Racing in Hong Kong is governed by the Hong Kong Jockey Club and racing is held at both Sha Tin and Happy Valley race tracks. The Hong Kong Cup is run at the Sha Tin Racecourse which was first erected in 1978. For more information about Sha Tin and the HKJC please take the time to visit our Sha Tin Racecourse page.
The Hong Kong Cup was first run in 1988 as the 'Hong Kong Invitation Cup' over 1800m and was initially only open to gallopers from Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore. In 1989, Australia and New Zealand horses were invited to enter, while European horses were allowed entry from 1990. Horses from the US, Canada and Japan participated from 1991 onwards and the race also included horses trained in the United Arab Emirates and South Africa.
The race was afforded Group One status in 1999, along with a distance increase to 2000m, and the race became the Hong Kong Cup. With UK$20,000,000 in prizemoney, the Hong Kong Cup is the final leg of the World Series Racing Championship which comprises of 12 races run between March and December in nine countries over four continents. The Australian leg of the series is the Gr1 WS Cox Plate held at Moonee Valley in October.
Currently sponsored by Cathay Pacific, the Hong Kong Cup is the feature event of International Race Day and has grown to become one of the most anticipated thoroughbred races on the Hong Kong racing calendar each year.
1. $6.00 California Memory 57.0 M Chadwick
2. $16.00 Irian 57.0 D Beadman
3. $34.00 Zazou 57.0 O Peslier
then followed
4. $2.30 Ambitious Dragon 57.0 D Whyte
5. $2.70 Cirrus Des Aigles 57.0 C Soumillon
6. $10.00 Byword 57.0 M Guyon
7. $21.00 Pure Champion 57.0 G Mosse
8. $101.00 Ransom Note 57.0 M Hills
9. $126.00 Jacobee 57.0 T Clark
10. $51.00 Durban Thunder 57.0 A Starke * Fixed Priced odds courtesy of IASbet
Margins: 1 len, 1/4 len Time: 2:04.57
Get the best odds on Hong Kong Racing at leading bookmaker IASbet!
Hong Kong International Race day is the major race day of Hong Kong horse racing and has grown into one of the biggest days of racing in Asia and around the world. International Race Day takes place annually in December and offers total prizemoney in excess of HK$64,000,000, which is approximately $8.2M Australian.
International Race Day features the four following races:
Australian and New Zealand gallopers were successful in the early runnings of the Hong Kong Cup with Grey Invader (1989), Kessem (1990), Romanee Conti (1992) and State Taj (1994) all winning. The prizemoney increase over the years and the quality status of the race has seen the best gallopers from around the world tackle this event and horses from this part of the world have not been able to greet the judge in recent times.
No Australian horse ran in the 2010 Hong Kong Cup.
Bet now on the Hong Kong Cup
Best price of the three Aussie Tabs with 'City Best Plus + SP'
