Singapore Turf Club discontinues two Group 1 races

ARCADIA, Calif. – The Singapore Turf Club announced this week that two Group 1, seven-figure international turf races that were fixtures on the May calendar have been discontinued.

The Singapore Airlines International Cup at 1 1/4 miles, which was worth $3.95 million this year, and the Krisflyer International Sprint at six furlongs, worth $1.31 million, will no longer be run. The Singapore International Cup was first run in 2000, and the Sprint began a year later.

The races frequently featured local runners competing against horses from Australia, France, Hong Kong, and Japan. Earlier this year, Hong Kong-based runners won both races.

The most recent American-based runner was Si Sage, trained in California by Darrell Vienna, who finished sixth in the 2014 Singapore International Cup.

In a one-page statement on its website, the Singapore Turf Club, the organizing body, said the races were designed to promote Singapore’s profile on an international racing stage and that “the objectives set out for the two races have been achieved.”