Hong Kong Cup

The Hong Kong Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Hong Kong which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 2000 metres (about miles or 10 furlongs) at Sha Tin, each year in mid-December.

The race was first run on 24 January 1988, and its distance was initially set at 1800 metres. The inaugural running was restricted to horses trained in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. Added to this list for the following season were horses from Australia and New Zealand. The race was switched to December for its third running, therefore taking place twice within 1989. Horses trained in Europe were admitted in 1990, followed by those from the United States in 1991, and Canada and Japan in 1992. The distance was increased to its present length, 2,000 metres, in 1999. Also at this time the race was promoted to Group 1 status.

The Hong Kong Cup is one of the four Hong Kong International Races, and it presently offers a purse of HK$36,000,000 in 2023-24 (approximately US$4.6 million), making it not just the richest race in Hong Kong but also the richest 2000 metre Turf race in the world.

Records

Speed record: (at present distance of 2,000 metres) 1:59.70 – Romantic Warrior (2022)

Most wins: 4 – Romantic Warrior (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)

Most wins by a jockey: 4 – James McDonald (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)

Most wins by a trainer: 4 – Danny Shum Chap-shing (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)

Most wins by an owner: 4 – Peter Lau Pak Fai (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)

Winners Year Winner Trained Age Jockey Trainer Owner Time 2nd/3rd 1988 Flying Dancer Hong Kong 5 Bartie Leisher Brian Kan Ping-chee Lim Por-yen 1:48.60 Top Grade / Yuno When 1989 Colonial Chief Singapore 4 Tony Cruz Ivan W. Allan Promise Stable 1:49.30 Top Grade / Stingray 1989 Grey Invader New Zealand 4 Gary Stewart Alvin Clark E. J. Johnson et al. 1:48.00 Latitude / St James 1990 Kessem New Zealand 5 Kevin Moses Brian Smith B. Duncan et al. 1:48.40 Livistona Lane / Colonial Chief 1991 River Verdon Hong Kong 4 Gérald Mossé David Hill Cheung / Arculli 1:49.80 Prudent Manner / Majestic Boy 1992 Romanee Conti New Zealand 4 Greg Childs Laurie Laxon Peter & Philip Vela 1:48.20 Fraar / Charmonnier 1993 Motivation Hong Kong 5 John Marshall John Moore Mr & Mrs Hui Sai Fun 1:49.20 Verveine / Stark South 1994 State Taj Australia 5 Damien Oliver James L. Riley Neville Begg & Partners 1:48.40 River Majesty / Volochine 1995 Fujiyama Kenzan Japan 7 Masayoshi Ebina Hideyuki Mori Tatsuya Fujimoto 1:47.00 Ventiquattrofogli / Jade Age 1996 First Island UK 4 Michael Hills Geoff Wragg Mollers Racing 1:48.20 Seascay / Kingston Bay 1997 Val's Prince USA 5 Cash Asmussen James E. Picou Martin / Weiner 1:47.20 Oriental Express / Wixim 1998 Midnight Bet Japan 4 Hiroshi Kawachi Hiroyuki Nagahama Shadai Racehorse Co. Ltd. 1:46.90 Johan Cruyff / Almushtarak 1999 Jim and Tonic France 5 Gérald Mossé François Doumen John D. Martin 2:01.40 Running Stag / Lear Spear 2000 Fantastic Light UAE 4 Frankie Dettori Saeed bin Suroor Godolphin 2:02.20 Greek Dance / Jim and Tonic 2001 Agnes Digital Japan 4 Hirofumi Shii Toshiaki Shirai Takao Watanabe 2:02.80 Tobougg / Terre A Terre 2002 Precision Hong Kong 4 Michael Kinane David Oughton Wu Sai Wing 2:07.10 Paolini / Dano-mast 2003 Falbrav UK 5 Frankie Dettori Luca Cumani Sc. Rencati / Yoshida 2:00.90 Rakti / Elegant Fashion 2004 Alexander Goldrun Ireland 3 Kevin Manning Jim Bolger Miriam O'Callaghan 2:03.30 Bullish Luck / Touch of Land 2005 Vengeance of Rain Hong Kong 4 Anthony Delpech David Ferraris R. G. Chow Hon Man 2:04.50 Pride / Maraahel 2006 Pride France 6 Christophe Lemaire Alain de Royer-Dupré NP Bloodstock Ltd 2:01.60 Admire Moon / Vengeance of Rain 2007 Ramonti UAE 5 Frankie Dettori Saeed bin Suroor Godolphin 2:02.80 Viva Pataca / Musical Way 2008 Eagle Mountain South Africa 4 Kevin Shea Mike de Kock M. bin K. Al Maktoum 2:00.92 Balius / Linngari 2009 Vision d'Etat France 4 Olivier Peslier Eric Libaud Detré / Libaud 2:01.86 Collection / Presvis 2010 Snow Fairy UK 3 Ryan Moore Ed Dunlop Anamoine Limited 2:02.94 Irian / Packing Winner 2011 California Memory Hong Kong 5 Matthew Chadwick Tony Cruz Howard Liang Yum Shing 2:04.57 Irian / Zazou 2012 California Memory Hong Kong 6 Matthew Chadwick Tony Cruz Howard Liang Yum Shing 2:03.09 Giofra / Alcopop 2013 Akeed Mofeed Hong Kong 4 Douglas Whyte Richard Gibson Pan Sutong 2:01.96 Tokei Halo / Cirrus des Aigles 2014 Designs On Rome Hong Kong 5 João Moreira John Moore Cheng Keung Fai 2:01.96 Military Attack / Criterion 2015 A Shin Hikari Japan 4 Yutaka Take Masanori Sakaguchi Eishindo Co Ltd 2:00.60 Nuovo Record / Blazing Speed 2016 Maurice Japan 5 Ryan Moore Noriyuki Hori Kazumi Yoshida 2:00.95 Secret Weapon / Staphanos 2017 Time Warp Hong Kong 4 Zac Purton Tony Cruz Martin Siu Kim Sun 2:01.63 Werther / Neorealism 2018 Glorious Forever Hong Kong 4 Silvestre de Sousa Frankie Lor Fu-chuen Michael Kwan Wing Lok 2:01.71 Deirdre / Time Warp 2019 Win Bright Japan 5 Masami Matsuoka Yoshihiro Hatakeyama Win Co Ltd 2:00.52 Magic Wand / Rise High 2020 Normcore Japan 5 Zac Purton Kiyoshi Hagiwara Seiichi Iketani 2:00.50 Win Bright / Magical 2021 Loves Only You Japan 5 Yuga Kawada Yoshito Yahagi DMM Dream Club Co Ltd 2:00.66 Hishi Iguazu / Russian Emperor 2022 Romantic Warrior Hong Kong 4 James McDonald Danny Shum Chap-shing Peter Lau Pak Fai 1:59.70 Danon The Kid / Money Catcher 2023 Romantic Warrior Hong Kong 5 James McDonald Danny Shum Chap-shing Peter Lau Pak Fai 2:02.00 Luxembourg / Hishi Iguazu2024Romantic WarriorHong Kong6James McDonaldDanny Shum Chap-shingPeter Lau Pak Fai2:00.51Liberty Island/ Tastiera2025Romantic WarriorHong Kong6James McDonaldDanny Shum Chap-shingPeter Lau Pak Fai2:02.29Bellagio Opera / Quisisana

The "1992" race actually took place in April 1993 – it had been postponed in December due to an equine virus.

Hong Kong Cup

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