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Blake Shinn's Hong Kong journey takes a pit stop
The evening after Blake Shinn won the Champions & Chater Cup on Russian Emperor to become the Hong Kong season’s leading Group One...

Alan Aitken
Jul 13, 20227 min read
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Gaming the system - a reason for celebration or elimination?
When Caspar Fownes scored his fourth Hong Kong trainers championship win in season 2020-21, he showed once again that he is not just a...

Alan Aitken
Aug 30, 20216 min read
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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
Nov 19, 20206 min read
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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...

Alan Aitken
Aug 31, 20209 min read
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What to expect from the trainer who's expected?
There might be an extra few ounces on the face, the hat is different and so is the grass cover on the real estate beneath it, but this...

Alan Aitken
Aug 28, 20205 min read
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Lost in the Valley - has the Magic Man's championship slipped away?
There "should" be a fairly simple equation to determining the Hong Kong jockey championship in any season - whoever has the best figures...

Alan Aitken
May 10, 20203 min read
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Gangnant! Winners aplenty in a favourite's Derby
The 2020 HK Derby is done and what we are left to take away from a thrilling renewal is the true arrival of Vincent Ho, a win for the...

Alan Aitken
Mar 24, 20205 min read
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Rating the HK Derby - it isn't just about the maths
The highest-rated Hong Kong Derby winner since the turn of the century was Lucky Owners (pictured), with a 129 figure from the...

Alan Aitken
Mar 18, 20204 min read
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Too easy, too overrated? Longines HKIR is done and dusted for another year
After the invitation to Almond Eye had been made, accepted and her presence expected, the absence of arguably the world's current best...

Alan Aitken
Dec 10, 20196 min read
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Quarantine issues over, let's work on competition
As welcome as Australian horses, like In Her Time (right), are for the Hong Kong International Races next month, it is arguably not a big...

Alan Aitken
Nov 27, 20194 min read
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The winter looks bright - it's the season of Size
There are not many racing jurisdictions in the world where the trainer running 14th after two months of a 10-month season remains a firm...

Alan Aitken
Nov 2, 20195 min read
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Gimme some room! says Beauty Generation
"Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above, Don't fence me in, Let me ride through the wide open country that I love, Don't...

Alan Aitken
Oct 23, 20195 min read
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Don't be a (knee) jerk on Aethero defeat
It is never hard to be wise after the event in racing but, in terms of Hong Kong's racing scene, the defeat of boom youngster Aethero on...

Alan Aitken
Oct 4, 20194 min read
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It's a season of challenge as time weighs on John Moore's star gallopers
There's no doubt who the king is right now. In fact, Beauty Generation holds a higher place in the Hong Kong landscape than the usual...

Alan Aitken
Sep 24, 20194 min read
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Don't be in a Rush when the new imports step out
It's that time again, when the Private Purchase (PP) horses start to step out and confuse the life out of their old fans back home. By...

Alan Aitken
Sep 17, 20194 min read
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Will the jockey show be back out front in 2019-20?
Last season, it was the thrilling trainers' premiership that kept us guessing until the final day but the jockeys might have their turn...

Alan Aitken
Aug 28, 20196 min read
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How John Size learned to love Happy Valley again & why he is favourite to make it 5 titles straight
When Tornado Twist won the last Happy Valley race of last season to send John Size two clear again in the championship after John Moore...

Alan Aitken
Aug 26, 20195 min read
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What will Betfair mean for Hong Kong racing?
The day that Betfair's first crack at Hong Kong closed its portal seems lost in time but the best guess would be in 2003, after the...

Alan Aitken
Aug 22, 20195 min read
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Purton's first 1,000 came up the hard way
It has only happened twice, so the patterns are unclear and it will always be a small sample, but there's no doubt Zac Purton got his...

Alan Aitken
Jun 11, 20194 min read
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Is the 2019 Kentucky Derby a watershed on the road to change?
The first we knew of Donald Trump's interest in horseracing was a bust of Martin Luther King crashing into the wall of the Oval Office...

Alan Aitken
May 6, 20194 min read
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