IF YOU CAN'T GET THERE, BE SURE TO TUNE IN

By Darren Winningham | Friday, April 26, 2024

Winno is on asignment for HRO ... reporting from Hong Kong

HONG KONG FWD CHAMPION’S RACE DAY 2024

It’s getting close now.

The Hong Kong FWD Champion’s Race Day International Racing, which will take place on Sunday, is one of the big, feature race meetings on the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s annual calendar ... and the stage is set for a great day of racing with warm temperatures forecast.

The overseas horses, trainers, jockeys, and connections have primed their horses to peak for this day, bringing horses from all around the world to Hong Kong to contest the record-breaking HK$72 million prize money that is on offer for the feature races.

The feature races, which are all contested at Group 1level are:

The Chairman’s Sprint – (HK$22 million prizemoney - an increase of HK$2 million on 2023). The FWD Champions Mile – (HK$22 million prizemoney - an increase of HK$2 million on 2023). The FWD QEII Cup – (HK$28 million prizemoney – an increase of HK$3 million on 2023).

The FWD QEII Cup with the increased prize money is now the third richest race in Hong Kong.

The HK$36 million Hong Kong Cup is the richest race and the HK$$32 million Hong Kong Mile is the second richest. Both of these races are held annually in December.

Hong Kong runners will be as competitive as ever on Sunday as their trainers target a clean sweep of all three feature races to keep all the prize money in Hong Kong – and they will not be short of support as Hong Kong is an extremely parochial and proud racing nation.

However, an international contingent is coming from all over the world, including, of course, from Japan, the most successful raiders in recent years, to challenge the Hong Kong trainer’s ambitions. It appears that the Japanese have launched another all-out assault on the 2024 FWD Champions Day.

In recent years the spoils in the FWD QEII Cup have been dominated by the Japanese and Hong Kong runners. However, the race has been won for the past two years by the local freak Romantic Warrior who is set to post a hat trick of wins.

John Moore still holds the record with five winners. Tony Cruz is hot on his tail training three winners in the last nine years – he will be represented by Five G Patch to be ridden by Australian jockey Brenton Avdulla, looking to spoil the party!

Will Hong Kong runners create history and win all three feature races?

We’ll find out soon enough as all roads lead to Sha Tin for the truly international event.

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