Giavellotto, Minnie Hauk and Cicero’s Gift among strong UK and Irish entry for Hong Kong International Races
Giavellotto, Minnie Hauk and recent British Champions Day Queen Elizabeth II Stakes winner Cicero’s Gift are among a strong entry of 33 horses from Great Britian and Ireland for the 2025 LONGINES Hong Kong International Races at Sha Tin on 14 December.
Offering record prize money of HK$130 million (approx. £12.7 million), Hong Kong’s outstanding showpiece has drawn entries from five continents, comprising 185 horses and crowned by 70 individual Group 1 winners, for four elite Group 1 races – the HK$40 million (approx. £3.9 million) G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (1m2f/2000m), HK$36 million (approx. £3.5million) G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (1m/1600m), HK$28 million (approx. £2.7 million) G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (6f/1200m) and HK$26 million (approx. £2.5 million) G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (1m4f/2400m).
Taking on the world’s best sprinter, Ka Ying Rising, in the LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint is a tall order, but UK and Irish entries include G1 winners Khaadem, Kind Of Blue, Big Mojo, Arizona Blaze and Buccanero Fuerte, as well as She’s Quality, also entered.
Marco Botti’s Giavellotto is entered for a defence of his LONGINES Hong Kong Vase, with other notable entries including this season’s Oaks, Irish Oaks and Yorkshire Oaks winner Minnie Hauk, 2024 Irish Derby victor Los Angeles, 2025 Irish St Leger winner Al Riffa and four-time Group 1 winner Dubai Honour.
The LONGINES Hong Kong Mile could feature recent British Champions Day G1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes winner Cicero’s Gift, as well as Royal Ascot G1 winner Docklands among five other British entries and The Lion In Winter from Ireland.
Aidan O’Brien’s The Lion In Winter, Minnie Hauk and Los Angeles also hold entries for the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup, as do his Queenstown and Bedtime Story, while Galen could represent O’Brien’s son Joseph. The British entry is headed by the Andrew Balding-trained See The Fire and the Ralph Beckett-trained Pride Of Arras.
A total of 22 horses are entered from Great Britain, while the Irish entry is 11 strong this year.
Europe’s highest rated horse Calandagan spearheads the French entry. Francis Henri-Graffard’s triple Group 1 winner was triumphant on his last start in the G1 Champion Stakes at Ascot in Great Britain, and has entries for the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup and LONGINES Hong Kong Vase along with Quisisana. Goliath is entered for the same races, although with the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase listed first.
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Successful over Rosallion in September’s G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp, three-year-old colt Sahlan is entered for the LONGINES Hong Kong Mile – a race not won by a French challenger since the great Jim And Tonic (1998).
Racing legend Andre Fabre has four entries: Junko, Sosie, Bright Picture and Casapueblo. Junko won the 2023 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase and may contest the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup, while Sosie, third in the 2025 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe could hunt a fourth LONGINES Hong Kong Vase for Fabre after successes with Borgia (1999), Flintshire (2014) and Junko.
Jerome Reynier may field G1 winners Lazzat and Facteur Cheval.
Japan has the most nominations from overseas with 50 entries – topped by 19 individual Group 1 winners – Tastiera, Satono Reve, Lugal, Win Carnelian, Soul Rush, Jantar Mantar, Embroidery, Croix Du Nord, Stellenbosch, Museum Mile, Admire Zoom, Cervinia, Champagne Color, Brede Weg, Durezza, Sol Oriens, Bellagio Opera, Urban Chic and Ascoli Piceno.
Leading Australian-based handler Chris Waller has entered dual G1 W.S. Cox Plate winner Via Sistina (2024 & 2025) for both the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup and LONGINES Hong Kong Vase. Waller also has Buckaroo, Lindermann, Birdman, Kovalica, Militarize, Land Legend, River Of Stars and Valiant King represented. Bjorn Baker’s Group 1-winning duo Stefi Magnetica and Arapaho are also entered from Australia.
Via Sistina could be joined by Treasurethe Moment, with trainer Matt Laurie preferencing the LONGINES Hong Kong Mile for his four-time Group 1-winning mare.
Ciaron Maher’s Light Infantry Man, winner of the 2025 G1 Australian Cup in Melbourne, is entered to run in the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase.
Bahrain’s entries are 2025 FWD QEII Cup-third Calif and Sovereign Spirit, while Qatar’s entry is Wathnan Racing-owned Silawi in the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase.
Germany has entered Cold Heart and Geography, while the United States of America has six Group 1 winners – Gold Phoenix, Rhetorical, One Stripe, Johannes, Howard Wolowitz and She Feels Pretty – among 12. Chile – yet to be represented at the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races – could have its first runner in Gran Oriente.
Hong Kong’s global champions Romantic Warrior and Ka Ying Rising spearhead the home side’s defence. Romantic Warrior – the city’s brilliant 10-time Group 1 winner – aims to capture a record-extending fourth LONGINES Hong Kong Cup, while the world’s best sprinter Ka Ying Rising – winner of the 2025 G1 The Everest (1200m) – seeks a second successive LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint triumph.
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Five-time Group 1 winner Voyage Bubble – Hong Kong’s second Triple Crown hero in history after River Verdon (1993/94) – chases a second win at the lucrative meeting and is entered for the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup and LONGINES Hong Kong Mile.
Rising star My Wish – last-start victor of the 2025 G2 Sha Tin Trophy Handicap and leading player from last season’s Four-Year-Old Classic Series – aims to continue his ascendance with a LONGINES Hong Kong Mile entry.
Tomodachi Kokoroe – the second-fastest horse over 1200m in Hong Kong after Ka Ying Rising – is entered alongside his stablemate in the LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint. The seven-year-old clocked 1m 07.39s when winning the 2025 G2 Premier Bowl Handicap, just shy of Ka Ying Rising’s record mark (1m 07.20s).
Mr Andrew Harding, Executive Director, Racing, The Hong Kong Jockey Club, said: “We are delighted with the entries and support from our international friends for the 2025 LONGINES Hong Kong International Races. Hong Kong’s very best horses will once again face off with world racing’s elite, setting the scene for another incredible day of sporting action at Sha Tin on 14 December.
“Our global champions Romantic Warrior and Ka Ying Rising will both aim to enhance their standing among the very best of world racing, while rising star My Wish continues to impress on his mission towards the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races with Group 2 and Group 3 wins. We are confident that this year’s entry will deliver yet another memorable LONGINES Hong Kong International Races – which sees a record purse of HK$130 million up for grabs across the four Group 1 contests.”
Full LONGINES Hong Kong International Races Entries:
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