The crowd will flock to Sha Tin on Sunday for Champions Day, which features three of the most popular horses in recent years: Golden Sixy, California Spangle, and Romantic Warrior.
Grant Courtney has been out and about in the early hours, casting his eye over the contenders and will be on track on Sunday to capture all the action. (all images Grant Courtney)
Group 1 Chairman's Sprint Prize (1200m)
California Spangle (IRE) is back home after his heroics in the Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai on World Cup night.
The Tony Cruz-trained gelding has been a revelation since returning to sprinting.
The son of Starspanglebanner has a decision over Golden Sixty in the 2022 Hong Kong Mile, but has been relishing the shorter distances under Brenton Avdulla.
Locally trained horses have had a monopoly on the race. The last foreigner to win was Chautauqua in 2016. It has been a bridge too far for Japanese-trained horses, but Mad Cool, an Irish-bred son of Dark Angel, is coming off a win in the Group 1 The Takamatsunomiya Kinen at Chukyo and Damian Lane's mount Sunset Ronaldo (Harbinger), will make their presence felt.
The Toronado gelding Victor The Winner won the Group 1 Centenary Sprint Cup in January and was far from disgraced when third to Mad Cool in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen.
Invincible Sage (Thronum), who raced here as Thron Bone, has been a model of consistency of late for David Hall, as has the Deep Field gelding Mugen.
Little Brose (Per Incanto), the 2003 Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes winner, has picked a tough spot to make his Hong Kong debut for David Hayes.
FWD Champions Mile (1600m).
Some whisper that this may be the final time we see the world's top-earning racehorse, Golden Sixty.
The 8-year-old son of Medaglia d'Oro (USA) aims for an unprecedented fourth consecutive win in the mile.
The 3-time Hong Kong Horse Of The Year makes his first start of the year, having not stated since his emotional win in the Hong Kong Mile in December.
Blake Shinn's mount Galaxy Patch is in fine form. The son of Wandjina is coming off a second in the Hong Kong Derby and defeated all bar California Spangle in the Group 1 The Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup.
The Deep Field gelding Voyage Bubble would not know how to run a bad race. James McDonald's mount, Voyage Bubble, made Romantic Warrior dig deep in the Hong Kong Gold Cup in February.
The Golden Eagle winner Obamburumai (JPN) should strip fitter after his luckless run on heavy ground in the Doncaster Mile.
Japan has another two representatives. Champagne Colour (Duramente) has been disappointing lately but had a result over Obamburumai in the Group 1 NHK Mile Cup at Tokyo last year.
Elton Barows (Deep Brillante) won four consecutive races last year, including the Group II Mainichi Okan, defeating the top-class Songline and Schnell Meister. He finished midfield in his only start this year at Nakayama.
Few horses have seen more of the world than the Archie Watson-trained Brave Emperor, who adds Hong Kong to passport stamps that include Qatar, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The 4-year-old son of Sioux Nation (USA) has won ten and placed in four of his 16 starts, so he is paying his way.
Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2000m)
The Cox Plate hero Romantic Warrior lines up for his third consecutive win in the feature.
The son of Acclamation has won 13 of his 18 starts and is a winner, plain and simple.
The William Haggas-trained Dubai Honour is almost an honourable Aussie, with his career highlights coming in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Ranvet Stakes.
The son of Pride Of Dubai made a winning start to 2024 in the Listed Magnolia Stakes at Kempton on April 2.
Japan has three runners. Damian Lane rides Hishi Iguazu. The son of Heart's Cry was third behind Romantic Warrior and Luxembourg in the Hong Kong Cup in Dember. Also in that race was Prognosis who was a length back in fifth. The son of Deep Impact separated Romantic Warrior and Dubai Honour in this race last year.
The Maurice 6-year-old North Bridge raced among the elites in Japan last year, but has not won in over 65 weeks.
The Fastnet Rock 5-year-old Straight Aaron has been a consistent performer for Casper Fownes and was far from disgraced when sixth in the Group 1 Dubai Turf in March.
The horse that shapes as a rising star is Massive Sovereign. The Irish-bred son of No Nay Never has made just two starts in Hong Kong. After opening his account with a three-and-a-half lengths romp over 2000m at Sha Tin on March 3, Massive Sovereign came from well back to win the Hong Kong Derby two weeks later. He had won two and was runner-up in two of his five starts for Aidan O'Brien.
