#Able Friend

So who is the real Beast from the East now? Much to the disappointment of the home fans, the title changed hands in a Sha Tin showstopper yesterday as Japanese star Maurice climbed off the canvas to better Able Friend and take the mantle as Asia's best miler. When Able Friend went three parts of a length up on me, I just couldn't go with the big…

Arguably the best horse ever to be trained in Hong Kong, Golden Sixty became a household name during the region's strict Covid lockdown period. J A McGrath traces his career ahead of his hat-trick attempt in Sunday's Hong Kong Mile, one of four Group 1 events at the annual HK International Races at Sha Tin Covid lockdown heroes were uncovered in…

The Hong Kong International Races have evolved over the course of three decades, and they now make up the largest annual international sporting event in Hong Kong. The four race extravaganza at Sha Tin Racecourse on Sunday has a rich history. Horse racing is extremely popular in Hong Kong, and its jockey club reports more than 2 million people…

Quinoa Tifah wins her career debut Thursday at Gulfstream Park. Photo by Lauren King, courtesy of Gulfstream Park April 17 (UPI) -- There's quality in lieu of quantity in this weekend's horse racing action with two "Grade A Prime" events at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas and the belated start of 2-year-old action in Florida. In Japan, 3-year-olds are the…

This year's Royal Ascot is set to be the most cosmopolitan in the meeting's history, with a record number of overseas challengers set to be on show. As always, the quality is staggering this year, with at least one Group 1 race on each of the five days of action. There are three Group 1 races on the opening day alone, with Tuesday's Queen Anne…

A is for A Shin Hikari, current Hong Kong Cup track record holder with a winning time of 2.00.60. B is for betting pools. The Hong Kong Jockey Club runs the region's racing and football pools, alongside the Mark Six Lottery. In 2017-18 horseracing contributed HK$122.8 billion (£12.3bn) in turnover. Unclaimed winnings of HK$60m (£6m) were returned…

Solow was the first winner at the 2015 Royal Ascot meeting, taking victory in the Queen Anne Stakes. The two other hotly anticipated races were the King's Stand Stakes and the St. James' Palace Stakes, won by outsider Goldream and pre-race favourite Gleneagles, respectively. Jockey Ryan Moore enjoyed a wonderful start to the meeting, picking up a…

In a winter hibernation since the excitement of last month's Longines Hong Kong International Races? Never fear, we get it. There hasn't been much to get excited about since A Shin Hikari & Co lit up Sha Tin on December 14. Good news: this Sunday's meeting at Sha Tin marks the start of a succession of regular feature races that stretches right…

In 2014 Tommy Berry's daring tactics famously rolled Joao Moreira and odds-on favourite Able Friend in the Hong Kong Classic Cup but Exultant's headstrong nature will make it difficult for jockey Zac Purton to do the same against Nothingilikemore in the 2018 edition on Sunday. Able Friend was sent out 1.8 favourite in the Classic Cup four years ago…