The Hong Kong Sprint is a Group 1 sprint race for 3yo & upward thoroughbreds over a distance of 1200 metres held each December at Sha Tin racecourse in Hong Kong. The race has prizemoney of HK$14,000,000 and is one of the four major races to take place on Hong Kong International Race Day.
The 2011 Hong Kong Sprint produced a most exciting finish with three local gallopers driving to the line together and jockey Brett Prebble got the most out of Lucky Nine in the final stanza proving too strong for Entrapment & Joy And Fun who dead-heated for second.
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 Sha Tin Racecourse is home to the Hong Kong Sprint and it was first built in 1978. Visit our Sha Tin Racecourse page for more information about the HKJC and Sha Tin.
The Hong Kong Sprint was was first run in 1999 and has grown into a very high class affair attracting the very best sprinters from around the world. It was originally a 1000m race until 2006 when it increased to the 1200m distance it is raced at today. Afforded Group One status in 2002, quality gallopers such as Falvelon (2000-01), Silent Witness (2003-04) and Sacred Kingdom (2007/09) have all won this race since inception.
The Hong Kong Sprint is the final leg of the 'Global Sprint Challenge' which is a thoroughbred horse racing series of eight sprint races run in Hong Kong, Australia, England and Japan. The Australian legs of the series are the Gr1 Lightning Stakes held at Flemington in January and the Gr1 Patinack Farm Classic held on the final day of the Flemington spring carnival in November.
Global Sprint Challenge races
Gr1 Lightning Stakes - Flemington Racecourse - Australia - January
Gr1 King's Stand Stakes - Royal Ascot - England - June
Gr1 Golden Jubilee Stakes - Royal Ascot - England - June
Gr1 July Cup - Newmarket Racecourse - England - July
Gr2 Centaur Stakes - Hanshin Racecourse - Japan - September
Gr1 Sprinters Stakes - Nakayama Racecourse - Japan - October
Gr1 Patinack Farm Classic - Flemington Racecourse - Australia - November
Gr1 Hong Kong Sprint - Sha Tin Racecourse - Hong Kong - December
The Champion Sprinter trophy is awarded to the connections of the horse that accumulates 42 points or more in a single season, and participates in challenge races in at least three countries. Challenge winners since the Global Series inception have been Cape of Good Hope (2005), Takeover Target (2006), Miss Andretti (2007) and Apache Cat in 2008.
Cathay Pacific is the current sponsor of the Hong Kong Sprint and it is an eagerly waited event on International Race Day and one of the highlights of a magnificent days racing.
Result:1. Lucky Nine 2. Entrapment & Joy And Fun (Dead heat 2nd)
2011 Hong Kong Sprint result
1. $5.50 Lucky Nine 57.0 B Prebble
=2. $7.00 Entrapment 57.0 D Whyte
=2. $101.00 Joy And Fun 57.0 B Doyle
then followed
4. $4.40 Little Bridge 57.0 G Mosse
5. $6.50 Curren Chan 55.5 K Ikezoe
6. $26.00 Rich Unicorn 57.0 M Du Plessis
7. $10.00 Admiration 57.0 D Beadman
8. $26.00 Bated Breath 57.0 S Drowne
9. $67.00 Sole Power 57.0 K Latham
10. $9.00 Sacred Kingdom 57.0 Z Purton
11. $67.00 Green Birdie 57.0 T Angland
12. $5.50 Rocket Man 57.0 B Vorster
13. $81.00 Society Rock 57.0 J Murtagh
14. $41.00 Pas De Trois 57.0 K Ando * Fixed Priced odds courtesy of IASbet
Margins: Head, Dead-heat Time: 1:08.98
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 the day itself has become one of the major 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:
Classy Australian sprinter Falvelon won this race in consecutive years in 2000-01 when it was a 1000m event and champion sprinter Apache Cat ran a solid race for third in 2008.
The Tony Noonan trained Ortensia represented Australia in the 2010 Hong Kong Sprint and she got to the line strongly to finish less then two lengths from the winner.
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