By Declan Schuster

Prolific winner Hong Lok Golf (124lb) faces his biggest test to date in Wednesday’s (14 January) HK$4.2 million G3 January Cup Handicap (1800m), and trainer Chris So is optimistic the seven-time victor can elevate his game to yet another level.

Hong Lok Golf is the January Cup’s least experienced galloper. Having kicked off his career rated 52 in late 2024, the five-year-old has surged to a mark of 102 across 10 starts as he takes aim at 11 rivals in Happy Valley’s sole Group race.

By Declan Schuster

Sunday's (25 January) HK$13 million G1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m) shapes as an epic showdown, where 11-time Group 1 winner Romantic Warrior faces last season’s Triple Crown hero Voyage Bubble at Sha Tin, while on the same afternoon, Ka Ying Rising steps out in the HK$13 million G1 Centenary Sprint Cup (1200m).

Paul Lally
R1 4-10-5-1
R2 1-12-10-7
R3 2-1-3-4
R4 8-3-1-12
R5 3-1-6-10
R6 2-11-7-9
R7 2-7-6-8
R8 10-11-2-7
R9 5-6-2-9

Best Bet R5 N3 Silvery Breeze
Longshot R8 N10 Masterofmyuniverse
Play Race6 QQP 2-7-11

Tom Wood
R1: 4-5-10-1
R2: 10-5-2-3
R3: 3-5-2-12
R4: 6-12-8-3
R5: 6-3-4-1
R6: 7-8-4-3
R7: 4-6-8-10
R8: 11-7-2-3
R9: 9-6-5-12

In the fourth instalment of The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Road to the Derby series, we take a look at Chris So’s progressive galloper Top Dragon.

With less than three weeks until the first leg of the prestigious 2025/26 Four-Year-Old Classic Series – the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) on 1 February – and with the 149th HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) on 22 March on the horizon, Top Dragon is building nicely into his four-year-old season.

Happy Valley Selections
(Wednesday, January 14, 2026)

Forever Young, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 1, has been named Japan’s 2025 Horse of the Year despite making only one start in the country through the year.

Champions were announced by the Japan Racing Association earlier this week. Journalists select the champions.

Forever Young was brilliant outside of Japan in 2025. Aside from the win in the BC Classic, Forever Young won the $20 million Saudi Cup in Saudi Arabia last February, and was third in the $12 million Dubai World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in April.

Paul Lally: 
R1 6-2-5-1 
R1 6-2-5-1 
R2 1-5-7-6 
R3 1-9-2-3 
R4 1-6-11-2 
R5 1-6-5-4 
R6 5-6-10-1 
R7 6-10-9-4 
R8 8-9-3-11 
R9 9-5-7-11 
R10 10-1-2-9 
R11 2-1-14-9 
Best Bet R11 N2 Helene Supafeeling 
Longshot R10 N10 The Red Hare 
Play QQP 6-9-10 

By Paul Ryding

The picture of who lines up in the first leg of the 2025/26 Four-Year-Old Classic Series should come into sharper focus after the Sha Tin meeting on Sunday (11 January).

Up to a dozen talented four-year-olds, who could earn their place in the starter list for the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) on 1 February, are in action on a potentially decisive weekend.

All eyes will be on the Class 3 (Restricted) Pak Shek Au Handicap (1600m), which shapes as a Hong Kong Classic Mile trial for several runners and a final tune-up for others.

Sha Tin Selections
(Sunday, January 11, 2026)

By Leo Schlink

Caspar Fownes reclaimed the lead in a rollercoaster battle for the 2025/26 Hong Kong trainers’ championship with a double at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (7 January) while the four-time champion’s long-time ally Vincent Ho dominated with a treble.

Fownes moved past Mark Newnham with the victories of Love Together and Perfect General under Ho to have 29 wins for the season to lead Newnham (28), Danny Shum (25) and David Hayes (24), while taking his career tally to 1,195 victories.