Alan AitkenJan 22, 20197 minThe Day of the Demon is over - or has just begun againAs July, 2014 opened, I had been working in Hong Kong as a racing journalist for 13 years and I had only seen one man crowned champion jo...
Alan AitkenJan 16, 20193 minKeep cheering home those secondsPunters get frustrated by them, horses are often the subject of denigration when they string together minor placings and trainers attract...
Alan AitkenJan 8, 20195 minDon't be fooled by Star's "flukey" winKa Ying Star's opening bid for the four-year-old series on Sunday came with plenty of favours from rivals but it should not be undersold ...
Alan AitkenDec 13, 20184 minIs Hong Kong's December showpiece under the threat of Japan Cupification?On a cool, glorious Sha Tin afternoon, the Longines International that carries the least enthusiasm for the local fans was the key result...
Alan AitkenDec 12, 20185 minBeauty in the eye of the beholderZac Purton had a good day on Sunday but he did miss the chance of his career. A few fellow riders had ribbed him after the Jockey Club Mi...
Alan AitkenDec 8, 20187 minCould the locals come in from the cold in the Vase to sweep Longines HKIR?Hong Kong’s balmy winter weather is taking a wicked turn for the worse this weekend, with a sharp temperature drop and even the remarkabl...
Alan AitkenDec 6, 20183 minWhy the International Jockeys' Championship is a minefieldIt might seem an odd thing to write about after the event is over, but the IJC every year is a remarkable contest and a remarkable contra...
Alan AitkenNov 21, 20184 minBeware the Jockey Club day results when you line them up on December 9The rubber hits the road for the Longines Hong Kong International Races today when the invited fields with foreign-based runners are anno...
Alan AitkenNov 15, 20184 minSaddling half the field not all beer and skittles says Size (but it's a nice problem to have)It's the problem every trainer wants to have but John Size says there is a downside to turning up to Group races with half the field. Siz...
Alan AitkenNov 13, 20186 minHow close can Joao & Zac get to a rematch in 2018-19?Last season, Zac Purton and Joao Moreira staged one of the great championship stoushes of all time with just two separating the riders at...
Alan AitkenNov 8, 20183 minFreedman farewell leaves the ball in the Jockey Club's court for the next expatMichael Freedman's final day as a Hong Kong-based trainer on Saturday, ironically, holds at least the pre-race the promise of being one o...
Alan AitkenOct 25, 20183 minNumbers down but quality rises in 2018 Longines HKIR entriesThe path to the Longines Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) on December 9 is open with the release of the first entries for the four Gr...
Alan AitkenOct 24, 20184 minThe tracks are about to get a whole lot bumpier for the Poon TrainMatthew Poon may well graduate from his apprenticeship with a 70th Hong Kong tonight at Happy, but what lies immediately ahead for him th...
Alan AitkenOct 18, 20183 minBeware the knee jerk reaction to Sunday's G2 wins - are they the HKIR heroes?If history teaches us anything about Sunday's two Group Two rehearsals at Sha Tin for the international day showstopper, it's that they n...
Alan AitkenOct 11, 20183 minTake me back, baby - the Magic Man will return to Hong KongSome weeks ago, I put a hypothetical to a senior Hong Kong Jockey Club official - if Joao Moreira fails to pass his test in Japan to ride...
Alan AitkenOct 2, 20185 minMoreira's absence a loss for Hong Kong - but not through the betting windowsWhen Hong Kong's betting turnover lagged in the first few meetings of the season, the idea was murmured that the loss of Joao Moreira to ...
Alan AitkenSep 27, 20183 minStable transfers looking an even better bet than usual with a new trainer in townFreshman trainer Jimmy Ting couldn't have made a much better start to his career than he has in the first four meetings, and this season ...
Alan AitkenSep 11, 20184 minSometimes, it turns out that you're just holding the map upside downThe old 'orange box theory' was alive and well at Sha Tin on Sunday when the most obvious tactics in the seventh race turned a slowly-run...
Alan AitkenSep 4, 20184 minHave absent riders left anything for Purton - or only his rivals?Zac Purton made an interesting point last week when he said the new landscape on the Hong Kong jockey scene is an opportunity for others ...
Alan AitkenAug 28, 20183 minShum and Cruz looking to show the way on day one at Sha Tin againThe 2018-19 Hong Kong racing season kicks off on Sunday at Sha Tin with all the questions still to be answered on the track but punters a...
Alan Aitken Nov 19, 2020 6 min Should the Longines IJC be left to randomness? Kudos for the Hong Kong Jockey Club being able to pull together an attractive LONGINES International Jockeys Championship (IJC) at Happy ...
Alan Aitken Aug 31, 2020 9 min The boys are back in town - will the Magic Man turn the tables? Don't let the friendly faces on the ground fool you - on horseback, Zac Purton and Joao Moreira are the fiercest of rivals and Hong Kong ...