top of page
Search


What did Sunday's G2 dress rehearsals tell us about Hong Kong International Races next month?
This is where we are now with Ka Ying Rising - exactly a year from the kiss cam and finger pointing celebrations of his first G2 victory in the 2024 edition, Sunday's smash carried nothing but an air of inevitability, before, during and after. He's in man bites dog territory, where only defeat would now be a story of any note. He's also in Silent Witness territory, with the Hong Kong Jockey Club was required to top up the win betting pool to the tune of $HK 215,524.45 so that

Alan Aitken
Nov 256 min read


It's crunchtime for the big names - well, sort of...
Sunday's Jockey Club race meeting was born of the local selection process for Longines Hong Kong International Race (HKIR) meeting after the turn of the century, but in 2025 it isn't totally overstating things to suggest this looks more like a fork in the road for some of the biggest Hong Kong names as they prepare for the actual main event in three weeks. Until 2002, Hong Kong's selection of international runners was patchy and, at times, a little controversial. The Hong Kon

Alan Aitken
Nov 207 min read


Challenge of The Everest not over for KYR the WBS
Life moves quickly when it's feature race time and Ka Ying Rising's win in The Everest at Royal Randwick seems a long while ago, even though it isn't yet two weeks. Within days of his momentous victory, the world's best sprinter was back out of the spotlight, away from the gawking eyes and probing questions of a voracious social media, and slipping quietly back into Sha Tin. David Hayes- star has already had his first morning on the track since his return, wit the aim to read

Alan Aitken
Oct 283 min read


I dreamed a dream...
IT isn't often that I introduce my dreams into an article but these are different times and the show around Ka Ying Rising tackling The...

Alan Aitken
Oct 33 min read


Jockey Club jockey games with a power subtext
Regular Hong Kong racing were somewhat surprised by the announcement of four new jockeys for the mid-season months last Wednesday,...

Alan Aitken
Sep 206 min read


Hours from disaster - the world's best sprinter dodged a bullet but all's well that ends well
Pictures of winning jockey Brenton Avdulla all but dancing in the rain after a victory at Sha Tin on Sunday left many racing fans around...

Alan Aitken
Sep 85 min read


Tough names at first glance but where's the depth in Hong Kong's top liners for the new season?
Ka Ying Rising canters at home in Saturday's trial As is usual, there have been oversized positive responses to the barrier trials of...

Alan Aitken
Aug 317 min read


Perennial favourite Size but there are hurdles
When John Size was coming off a seventh placing in the previous championship at this time in 2024, we called him an even money chance to...

Alan Aitken
Aug 278 min read


The Exciting Journey of Four-Year-Old Racehorses in Hong Kong
If we had done this a year ago, our top-rated runners, just turned four years old, were The Winnabe, Ka Ying Rising, and Wunderbar. They remind us how much can change in a year. Everyone knows how Ka Ying Rising turned out. Wunderbar, the only horse to conquer the champion sprinter, suffered an injury that sidelined him for months and slowed him down. The Winnabe faced an even tougher fate, as an injury kept him out of racing for an entire year. He was finally retired late la

Alan Aitken
Aug 237 min read


Purton from daylight again in HK jockeys' title
With eight championships now banked and Zac Purton sitting second to only 13-time champion Douglas Whyte in collecting titles, the...

Alan Aitken
Aug 206 min read


Will sour grapes be the winner at Hong Kong's Horse Of The Year?
It really hit home when my fellow diner across the table took a swig of sauvignon blanc and said: “All right then, what’s your market on...

Alan Aitken
Jul 95 min read


Picking apart the 2025 BMW HK Derby
Zac Purton returns with Massive Sovereign after the 2024 Derby It's an unusual Derby. There are no standouts, just promises to stand out....

Alan Aitken
Mar 1912 min read


Is this the dawning of a new South African era in Hong Kong racing - this time with horses?
The headline result from Friday's Chinese New Year meeting was the breakthrough feature wins of My Wish for sophomore trainer Mark...

Alan Aitken
Feb 35 min read


HowdeepareHKsprinters?
While Ka Ying Rising is rightly the headline act, even Hong Kong's current sprinters away from the David Hayes-trained superstar are a...

Alan Aitken
Jan 84 min read


So, here we are again - to Everest or not to Everest for Ka Ying Rising?
Eighteen months ago, the talk in the world of turf sprinting was all around Hong Kong's Lucky Sweynesse and whether he should be aimed at...

Alan Aitken
Nov 18, 20244 min read


Same story looms for Purton but the end is nigh
At the height of their rivalry as jockeys, Zac and Purton and Douglas Whyte took to trash talking and finger pointing at each other in...

Alan Aitken
Sep 5, 20244 min read


Pipped in 2023-2024 - is Ng the one to beat?
John Size said many years ago that the Hong Kong trainers’ championship race was “leader biased” so you have to wonder if perhaps he...

Alan Aitken
Sep 5, 20244 min read


Better to come from the freshman trainers
David Eustace's Hong Kong training career is currently four horses and an inability to do anything with them as he waits on the sidelines...

Alan Aitken
Jun 25, 20243 min read


Wrong time, wrong race in Sweynesse flop
Horses lose. That's the lesson that we are taught again and again over the years as racing fans and punters. (Almost) all horses lose....

Alan Aitken
Sep 13, 20234 min read


It's all "Fat Zac", the apex predator
We have to go back to the peak Douglas Whyte years for the level of anticipation that hovers around this season Hong Kong jockeys'...

Alan Aitken
Sep 6, 20234 min read
bottom of page
