The Hong Kong Cup is a

Group 1 Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (racing), a historic (until 1981) classification for Touring car racing, applied to standard touring cars. Comparable to modern FIA Group N * Group On ...

flat Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), ...

horse race Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

which is open to

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

s aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 2000 metres (about miles or 10 furlongs) at

Sha Tin Sha Tin, also spelt Shatin, is a neighbourhood along Shing Mun River in the eastern New Territories, Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Sha Tin District. Sha Tin is one of the neighbourhoods of the Sha Tin New Town project. The ne ...

, and it is scheduled to take place 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 Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. Added to this list for the following season were horses from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The race was switched to December for its third running, therefore taking place twice within 1989. Horses trained in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

were admitted in 1990, followed by those from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1991, and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

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 Hong Kong International Races (香港國際賽事) is an event consisting of the four most prestigious horse races in Hong Kong hosted by the Hong Kong Jockey Club. The four races are: Hong Kong Sprint (1200m), Hong Kong Mile (1600m), Hong Kong Cu ...

, and it presently offers a purse of HK$34,000,000 in 2022-23 (approximately US$3.23 million), making not just the richest race in Hong Kong and 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: * 2 –

California Memory California Memory () is an American-bred Hong Kong based Thoroughbred racehorse. He was one of the nominees of 2010-2011 Hong Kong Horse of the Year. Background California Memory is a grey gelding sired by Highest Honor out of the mare Kalpi ...

(2011,2012) Most wins by a

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

: * 3 –

Frankie Dettori Lanfranco Dettori (; born 15 December 1970), better known as Frankie Dettori, is an Italian horse racing jockey based in the United Kingdom. Dettori has been British flat racing Champion Jockey three times and has ...

(2000, 2003, 2007) Most wins by a trainer: * 3 – Anthony S. Cruz (2011, 2012, 2017) Most wins by an owner: * 2 – Godolphin (2000, 2007), Howard Liang Yum Shing (2011,2012)

Winners

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

References

Racing Post ''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing and sports betting publisher which is published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of 6 ...

: **, , , , , , , , , ** , , , , , , , , , ** , , , , , , , , , ** , ,
Racing Information of Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Cup (2011/12)

Website of Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Cup (2011/12)
* The Hong Kong Jockey Club

horseracingintfed.com
– ''International Federation of Horseracing Authorities – Hong Kong Cup (2016).''
pedigreequery.com
– ''Hong Kong Cup – Sha Tin.'' {{Race Meeting, Hong Kong International Races, Turf Open middle distance horse races Horse races in Hong Kong Recurring sporting events established in 1988 1988 establishments in Hong Kong

Records

Winners

See also

References