New World Pool fixtures from Australia, South Africa, UK and Ireland for 2026
World Pool’s 2026 fixture list will feature a host of new big race days from Australia, UK, Ireland and South Africa.
World Pool’s new spate of fixtures will kick-off in South Africa little over a week into the new year, when 10 races on King’s Plate Day from Kenilworth on 10 January will be commingled for the first time.
A further new South African addition to the fixture list will see races on H F Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes Day (7 March) from Turffontein part of World Pool in Q1.
Horse racing news: After making history yet again, where next for Japanese star Forever Young in 2026?
It’s fair to say that Forever Young is Japan’s new idol horse.
But what lies ahead for Yoshito Yahagi’s history-making five-year-old in 2026? Sports News Blitz’s Kieran McHugh explores.
Horse racing tips for Kempton’s evening card on Wednesday, January 7
Making his debut for Sport News Blitz, horse racing pundit Kieran McHugh finishes the first week of the new year with his first set of tips.
With a new year’s resolution of trying to end the season in profit, he’s hoping it doesn’t go the way of many people’s gym memberships – down the pan.
Horse racing news: Rivals renew feud as Galopin bids for history again
Galopin Des Champs and Inothewayurthinkin are the headline acts of the 33 entries for the Cheltenham Gold Cup on March 13, a rematch of last year’s big clash.
A further 21 Irish trained horses are entered, with the ‘Emerald Isle’ bidding to make it a tenth victory in 11 years in the race, writes Sports News Blitz horse racing expert Kieran McHugh.
However, there is optimism that Great Britain can reclaim the coveted trophy, despite being outnumbered.
Horse racing news: World Pool posts strong growth in 2025
World Pool turnover on overseas races, that is those meetings internationally commingled from outside Hong Kong, grew by 20% in 2025.
The total amount bet into the Hong Kong Jockey Club-powered pools across 57 overseas racedays in 2025 totalled HK$9.3bn, up from HK$7.8bn in 2024.
2025 also saw a new record set for the highest single race turnover for World Pool bet types. Ka Ying Rising’s appearance in The Everest saw betting surge to a total of HK$83m, smashing the previous high of HK$66.2m wagered on the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes in 2023 when Hong Kong sprinter Wellington lined up.
Myretown heads William Hill Half A Mill Classic Chase betting
Lucinda Russell and Michael Scudamore’s Myretown heads the betting for Saturday’s William Hill Half A Mill Classic Handicap Chase at Warwick. Last seen when falling at Newbury on his seasonal bow, the Ultima winner will be looking to get his campaign back on track in the latest William Hill Half A Mill bonus race.
Horse racing news: Constitution Hill 3/1 to win on the Flat in 2026
Constitution Hill can be backed at 3/1 with William Hill to make a successful switch to the Flat in 2026, having fallen on his last three starts over hurdles.
The former Champion Hurdle winner is 3/1 to win a Group or Graded race on the level at any point in the new year.
The leading bookmaker’s popular ‘Horses To Remain Unbeaten’ market is back as well, with Hong Kong’s star sprinter Ka Ying Rising heading the betting at 2/1.
ITV Boxing Day horse racing tips and best bets for Kempton, Ascot and Wetherby on Friday, December 26
Boxing Day has always been the traditional day for a full programme of football action, so typically the Premier League has stuck two fingers up at that tradition and scheduled just one match, which means many will turn their attention to one of the biggest days in the National Hunt calendar instead.
Sport News Blitz’s horse racing tipster Jeff Mexico has been camped outside Kempton Park since last Tuesday, dressed in his usual festive gear – a pair of camouflage shorts, a boob tube and some winklepickers. He likes to emit ‘stay well clear of me’ vibes.
On top of four races from Kempton, three of those Grade 1s, he has also picked selections from the G1 at Aintree and the G3 at Wetherby. Good luck.
Horse racing news: Il Est Francais given query rating by Timeform
Timeform have handed last year’s King George runner-up Il Est Francais a query rating (?) ahead of his bid to go one better in this year’s Boxing Day feature, meaning Tom George’s seven-year-old is considered out of form and cannot be assessed with confidence.
Il Est Francais was imperious when winning the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase on Kempton’s Boxing Day card two years ago, beating a high-class Hermes Allen by 11 lengths and looking like one who could dominate the staying chase division for years to come.
ITV horse racing tips and best bets for Ascot and Haydock on Saturday, December 20
Sport News Blitz’s horse racing tipster Jeff Mexico nearly drowned this week. His local swimming pool is currently playing Christmas hits over the PA system and after hearing Shakin Stevens’ hit “Merry Christmas Everyone” for the umpteenth time, Jeff decided not to come up for air after his 27th length of punishing but elegant butterfly.
Luckily Jeff got a life-saving kiss from a nearby unspecified gendered lifeguard. It was the most action he’s had since 2001. To celebrate another weekend on this mortal coil, Jeff has tips for the six races on offer this Saturday afternoon – four from Ascot, including the Grade 1 Long Walk, and two from Haydock to keep the northerners happy.
Hong Kong heroes Romantic Warrior, Ka Ying Rising and Voyage Bubble star at Sha Tin
Hong Kong’s big three, Romantic Warrior, Ka Ying Rising and Voyage Bubble turned on the style at the Hong Kong International Races at Sha Tin on Sunday, all successfully defending their Group 1 crowns from 12 months ago.
Andre Fabre claims a record-breaking fourth win in the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase with Sosie
In the week he celebrated his 80th birthday, Andre Fabre became the first trainer to win the HK$26 million (approx. £2.5m) G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (1m4f/2400m) four times, as Sosie surged to success under a cool and confident Maxime Guyon.
ITV horse racing tips and best bets for Cheltenham and Doncaster on Saturday, December 13
It’s a busy time of year for Sport News Blitz’s horse racing tipster Jeff Mexico. He regularly breaks into people’s houses and steals exactly the right amount of Quality Street that will create a blazing family argument.
But he’s taking a day off this weekend and casting his net over five big races from Cheltenham, including the Grade 2 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle, plus three from Doncaster, where it's Christmas Jumper Raceday … if that’s your type of thing.
Horse racing news: Joseph O’Brien upbeat about chances of Al Riffa and Galen in Hong Kong
Joseph O’Brien has never been a man to duck an international challenge as he prepares to take on three-time champion Romantic Warrior in the HK$40 million (approx. £3.8m) G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (1m2f/2000m) at Sha Tin on Sunday 14 December.
With two Melbourne Cups and a Breeders’ Cup success already unlocked during a training career which only began in 2016, O’Brien pitches the unheralded Galen into white-hot competition.
Horse racing news: Hong Kong International Races – Al Riffa tops Timeform ratings in G1 Hong Kong Vase
With the Hong Kong International Races 2025 this Sunday, Timeform can reveal the four horses who top the ratings for each of the four Group 1 races.
The Hong Kong Cup should be the highlight on the card, being the most valuable of the races, and it may well see history made with Romantic Warrior bidding to become the first four-time winner at the fixture.
Ryan Moore takes place among world’s elite for LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship at Happy Valley
The LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) at Happy Valley without Ryan Moore is almost unthinkable, and on Wednesday night (10 December), the 42-year-old will join 11 of the world’s elite riders for the 19th time in 20 years.
That couldn’t have been taken for granted when the line-up was first announced a month ago, as Moore continued his recovery from a stress fracture of the femur, which was first revealed at the end of August.
But the four-time recipient of the LONGINES World’s Best Jockey award made his return to race riding when landing a double at Lingfield a week out from the LONGINES IJC, and was in relaxed mood at Sha Tin on Tuesday morning (9 December) after riding a barrier trial for longtime ally John Size.
Harry Eustace carries high hopes for Docklands in LONGINES Hong Kong Mile
There will be another Eustace among the names for Sha Tin’s LONGINES Hong Kong International Races on Sunday (14 December) once again with David's brother Harry hoping for a more prominent showing from his stable star Docklands.
The elder sibling of one of Hong Kong's brightest training talents has had a fine year himself, with Docklands becoming his first top-level winner in the G1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot in June.
Now a very experienced five-year-old, he bids to improve upon last year's 12th-placed finish when tackling the HK$36 million (approx. £3.5m) G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile.
Horse racing news: Joseph O’Brien seeks success with Al Riffa in LONGINES Hong Kong Vase
Joseph O’Brien regards his HK$26 million (approx. £2.5m) G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (1m4f/2400m) contender Al Riffa as the horse who can help further his ambition to become a regular face at the major race meetings around the world in the coming years.
Al Riffa, a strapping five-year-old by Wootton Bassett, has already given a glimpse of that potential with a second to Godolphin’s globetrotter Rebel’s Romance at Royal Ascot in June and a much-debated seventh to Half Yours in the 2025 G1 Melbourne Cup.
Horse racing tips and best bets for ITV racing at Sandown and Aintree on December 6
Is your Christmas tree up yet? This is something Jeff Mexico will never say as he doesn’t believe in the festive season after he was beaten to a pulp by a drunken Santa Claus and a pack of rabid elves on a winter’s eve in the 1990s.
This weekend, the Sports News Blitz horse racing oracle casts his net over five big races from Sandown, including the Grade 1s Henry Novices Chase and the Tingle Creek Chase, plus three from Aintree.
Mr Vango well backed for William Hill Half A Mill Becher
After 13 runners were declared for Aintree’s William Hill Becher Chase, the first William Hill Half A Mill bonus race, Mr Vango has been popular in the betting and is the 4/1 favourite.