#Tony Cruz

The HK$18.5 million Longines Hong Kong Sprint has fast become a global sprint championship race, with horses lining up regularly from many of racing's leading jurisdictions to determine which horse is quickest. Originally run over the straight 1000m course as a Listed race, Hong Kong legend Fairy King Prawn won the first edition in 1999. The…

A prolific winner with four wins from eight starts, Tuchel - trained by John Size - made his Class 2 debut a winning one after enduring a tough, three-wide passage from gate 14 before extending to score by half a length over fellow four-year-old Galaxy Witness. "I knew he had that ability but whether he was going to be able to produce that today,…

A horse in Hong Kong has stunned punters by coming from miles behind to win its very first race. Pakistan Star, bred in Germany, stormed from last to first to claim a dramatic victory in the Racing Goes On Griffin Plate at Sha Tin racecourse. The two-year-old gelding was paying $16 for a win before the start but those odds looked stingy as Pakistan…

The LONGINES Hong Kong International 2022 racing came to a dramatic close at Sha Tin on Sunday with two hot favorites being defeated in the Group 1 races, but the events of the day did little to diminish the world class racing we got to enjoy over the entirety of the past week. The first upset came in the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase when the heavily…

The Weatherbys Super Sprint was devised by Richard Hannon Snr and Lord Carnarvon as a lucrative prize for two-year-olds who hadn't cost a fortune at the sales. Accordingly, it has been the source of numerous wonderful rags-to-riches stories in its 30-year history. But just because the popular five-furlong dash staged at Newbury each July caters for…

It's been a week of ups and downs in the HK jockeys' room. Matthew Chadwick's good season is on hold after he broke his right ankle in a barrier trial accident on Tuesday and the 32-year-old "will not be fit to resume riding for some time" according to a HKJC statement. Karis Teetan is heading in the opposite direction after a three-month absence…

Zac Purton: claimed the Hong Kong Vase with California Spangle California Spangle denied Golden Sixty a third success in the Longines Hong Kong Mile, with the odds-on favourite beaten by a masterful tactical ride from Zac Purton at Sha Tin. With Golden Sixty in his usual midfield position, Purton pressed ahead on the Tony Cruz-trained runner from…

California Spangle holds off Golden Sixty in Group 1 Longines Hong Kong Mile Photo courtesy of Hong Kong Jockey Club HONG KONG, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- A super day for Hong Kong highlighted weekend horse racing with action-starved fans emerging from pandemic lockdowns to cheer on some new heroes from the Sha Tin Racecourse grandstand. Two-year-old filly…

HK might as well stand for Hokey Kokey after another week of dramatic ins and outs. In-form Zac Purton was ruled out of Wednesday's Happy Valley meeting, along with French rider Antoine Hamelin, due to a second positive Covid test in recent weeks. Both riders are back in for Sunday's Sha Tin card but Ruan Maia and recent Aussie import Jye McNeil…

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…

Gun English jockey Ryan Moore will ride Wellington in next month's Group One Hong Kong Sprint (1200m), with trainer Richard Gibson confirming his stable star is on track for the international races. Wellington pulled up lame after a disappointing sixth in the Group Two Jockey Club Sprint (1200m) on November 20 but Gibson is pleased with how his…

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…

Beauty Generation, shown during morning track work Thursday, is one of many headliners on the Champions Day program Sunday at Hong Kong's Sha Tin Racecourse. Photo courtesy of Hong Kong Jockey Club April 24 (UPI) -- With much of the world's horse racing still out of action because of the coronavirus, Hong Kong steps up this weekend with a trio of…

Flavien Prat, atop Flightline, looks between his legs for the rest of the field after winning the Breeders' Cup Classic at the Breeders' Cup Championships at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., on Saturday. Photo by Mark Abraham/UPI | License Photo LEXINGTON, Ky., Nov. 7 (UPI) -- The Breeders' Cup is in the rearview mirror and the star of the…

Ce Ce, shown winning the Azeri Stakes on March 12 at Oaklawn Park, is among the favorites for Saturday's Grade I Apple Blossom over the same track. Coady photography, courtesy of Oaklawn Park April 22 (UPI) -- As spring blossoms, horse racing stars including Letruska, Ce Ce, Pizza Bianca, Malathat and Channel Maker return from winter vacations this…

Partnered with jockey Blake Shinn for trainer Douglas Whyte, Russian Emperor savoured his second Group 1 success with a performance deserving of recognition as Hong Kong Champion Stayer (2021/22) after previously blitzing the G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m/1m2f) and Golden Sixty in February. Returning to Australia at the conclusion of this…

Zac Purton is already away and clear atop the HK jockeys' table but it would take a brave punter to take a heavy position on this year's trainers' championship. Tony Cruz leads on twelve winners after Street Scream completed a hat-trick at Happy Valley on Sunday but current champ Frankie Lor is only one behind after a double and Francis Lui, John…

The Magic Man is finally back - but not without a few notable caveats. Joao Moreira returns to action at Sha Tin on Sunday after missing the first two meetings of a new season due to problems from last term and his messages to various media members are interesting. On the one hand he's "feeling much better" and "ready to go to war." But on the…

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…

The old saying dictates that you can leave Hong Kong, but it will never leave you. There's much to be said for taking a break from one of the world's most intense cities - especially when the fight against Covid is far from over - but an eight-week hiatus is enough to sharpen the appetites of most racing fans and players alike. Zac Purton and Joao…

There's been no racing in Hong Kong for more than seven weeks but there's still been plenty happening. Here are some of the off-season's more newsworthy events. The Jockey Club will offer its punters another form of fixed-price wagering in 2022-23, with the Trainer Challenge launching at Sunday's season opener at Sha Tin. Like the Jockey Challenge,…