Queen Elizabeth II Cup

The Queen Elizabeth II Cup is a Group One Thoroughbred horse race at Sha Tin Racecourse in the New Territories, Hong Kong. Established in 1975 by the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club, it is run annually in April over a distance of 2,000 metres (ten furlongs) on turf. Prior to 1997, the distance of the race was 2,200 metres (eleven furlongs). Sponsored by Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet since 1999, it currently offers a purse of HK$20 million (US$2.6 million) since 2014/15.

The Queen Elizabeth II Cup was first run at the Happy Valley Racecourse in Happy Valley, Hong Kong to commemorate a visit to Hong Kong by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. It was a local Class 1 or 2 race over a distance between 1,400 and 1,800 metres until 1995 when it opened to international entries. Since then, Hong Kong horses have been competing against those from the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, France, Japan and Australia.The Hong Kong Jockey Club, Introduction of Audemars Piguet QE II Cup

Since becoming a Group One race in 2001, every winner of the Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup has been a descendant of Northern Dancer. The 2006 race saw Irridescence upset the great filly and European Horse of the Year, Ouija Board.

The Queen Elizabeth II Cup has been sponsored by the Swiss haute horlogerie brand Audemars Piguet for around 17 years now, they continue to make special edition pieces (mostly based on the Royal Oak) to celebrate their sponsorship of the event. They join companies such as Omega SA, Rolex and Longines as one of the official sports event partners that provide both sponsorship and race timers.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, no overseas horses entered the race in 2020 and this international Group 1 event became a local race.

Winners since 1995 Year Winner Age Jockey Trainer(Trained In) Owner Time 1995 Red Bishop 7 Michael Kinane Hilal Ibrahim (UAE) Ali Saeed 2:17.20 1996 Overbury 5 Frankie Dettori Saeed bin Suroor (UAE) Godolphin 2:14.50 1997 London News 5 Douglas Whyte Alec Laird (South Africa) Laurie & Jean Jaffee 2:00.30 1998 Oriental Express 5 Ivan Allan (Hong Kong) Larry Yung Chi Kin 2:01.00 1999 Jim And Tonic 5 Gerald Mosse François Doumen (France) John D. Martin 2:00.10 2000 Industrialist 4 Alan Munro Brian Kan Ping-chee (Hong Kong) A. Hu Si Nok & P. Wong Yau Ming 2:02.10 2001 Silvano 5 Andreas Suborics Andreas Wöhler (Germany) Stiftung Gestüt Fährhof 2:03.10 2002 Eishin Preston 5 Yuichi Fukunaga Shuji Kitahashi (Japan) Toyomitsu Hirai 2:02.50 2003 6 2:03.80 2004 River Dancer 5 Glyn Schofield John Size (Hong Kong) Ronald Arculli 2:01.40 2005 Vengeance of Rain 4 Anthony Delpech David Ferraris (Hong Kong) Chow Nam & R. G. Chow Hon Man 2:01.80 2006 Irridescence 5 Weichong Marwing Mike de Kock (South Africa) Team Valor 2:02.00 2007 Viva Pataca 5 Michael Kinane John Moore (Hong Kong) Stanley Ho Hung-Sun 2:01.90 2008 Archipenko 4 Kevin Shea Mike de Kock (South Africa) Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum 2:00.80 2009 Presvis 5 Ryan Moore Luca Cumani (Great Britain) Leonidas Marinopoulos 2:02.97 2010 Viva Pataca 8 Weichong Marwing John Moore (Hong Kong) Stanley Ho Hung-Sun 2:04.97 2011 Ambitious Dragon 4 Douglas Whyte Tony Millard (Hong Kong) Lam Pui Hung 2:02.23 2012 Rulership 5 Umberto Rispoli Katsuhiko Sumii (Japan) Sunday Racing Co Ltd 2:02.38 2013 Military Attack 5 Tommy Berry John Moore (Hong Kong) Mr & Mrs Steven Lo Kit Sing 2:02.15 2014 Designs on Rome 4 Cheng Keung Fai 2:01.06 2015 Blazing Speed 6 Neil Callan Tony Cruz (Hong Kong) Fentons Racing Syndicate 2:02.892016Werther4Hugh BowmanJohn Moore (Hong Kong)Johnson Chen2:01.322017Neorealism6João MoreiraNoriyuki Hori (Japan)U Carrot Farm2:04.592018Pakistan Star5William BuickTony Cruz (Hong Kong)Kerm Din2.00.212019Win Bright5Yoshihiro Hatakeyama (Japan)Win Co Ltd1:58.812020Exultant6Zac PurtonTony Cruz (Hong Kong)Eddie Wong Ming Chak & Wong Leung Sau Hing2:00.002021Loves Only You5Vincent Ho Chak-yiuYoshito Yahagi (Japan)DMM Dream Club2:01.222022Romantic Warrior 4Karis TeetanDanny Shum Chap-shing (Hong Kong)Peter Lau Pak Fai2:00.1320235James McDonald2:01.92202462:01.022025Tastiera 5Damian LaneNoriyuki Hori (Japan)Carrot Farm Co Ltd2:00.512026Romantic Warrior 8James McDonaldDanny Shum Chap-shing (Hong Kong)Peter Lau Pak Fai2:00.64

Earlier winners

Queen Elizabeth II Cup

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