By Tom Peacock

Ryan Moore was playing it typically cool over his chances in Wednesday’s (4 December) LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) at Happy Valley.

Moore was among the 12 superstar riders at the LONGINES IJC Press Conference in Tai Kwun, the culture and heritage venue in Central, Hong Kong.

The 41-year-old has put his hands on the LONGINES IJC trophy on two occasions in 2009 and 2010 and has been virtually an ever-present in intervening years as well as winning most of the calendar’s noteworthy races.

Paul Lally:

R1 1-3-6-8
R2 3-1-5-12
R3 10-2-5-3
R4 4-10-8-3
R5 7-11-1-14
R6 4-10-1-2
R7 5-4-6-10
R8 12-5-2-6
R9 8-3-10-9

Best Bet R9 N8 Stunning Peach
Longshot R3 N10 California Moxie
Play R7 QQP 4-5-6

Tom Wood:

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

Karis Teetan is predicting fierce competition in the 2024 LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) when 12 of the world’s best jockeys converge on Wednesday night (4 December) at Happy Valley after the allocation of rides was completed this morning (Monday, 2 December) at Sha Tin.

A bit of local knowledge goes a long way for Hugh Bowman, who appeared pleasantly surprised at the outcome of the rides allocation for Wednesday’s (4 December) LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC).

Bowman was part of the delegation for a media briefing at Sha Tin on Monday morning (2 December) to discover what he would be riding in the popular event at Happy Valley.

He kicks off with Mark Newnham’s Notthesillyone in the 1st Leg (1000m) followed by Jumbo Fortune, second three times in five starts for David Eustace, in the 2nd Leg (1650m).

Ricky Yiu launches a three-pronged attack in the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) at Sha Tin on Sunday, 8 December and Yiu believed all his three runners will go close.

Since Fairy King Prawn’s victory in the inaugural Hong Kong Sprint, Yiu has added two more Hong Kong Sprint wins to his tally with Sacred Kingdom in 2007 and 2009. This year, he will saddle Voyage Bubble in the HK$36 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (1600m) and Straight Arron and Nimble Nimbus in the HK$40 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m).

Two women, whose passion for riding and racing was nurtured in the English countryside, are determined to create history in the LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) at Happy Valley on Wednesday (4 December).

Hollie Doyle, 28, who rode her 1,000th career winner at Goodwood, West Sussex, in September, 2024, and Rachel King, 34, Oxford-born but now a ‘true blue’ Aussie after 11 years riding in Sydney, will bid to register a first female win in the series.

Happy Valley Selections
(Wednesday, December 04, 2024)

Vincent Ho completed preparations for his defence of the LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (4 December) with a treble at Sha Tin on Sunday (1 December) – a haul matched by Hugh Bowman and Mark Newnham.

Four days after becoming only the 11th jockey to ride 600 or more winners in Hong Kong, Ho struck aboard The Boom Box, Vulcanus and Healthy Healthy – who successfully backed up for Pierre Ng after providing Ho’s milestone victory last Wednesday (27 November).

In 2008, on one of his first major assignments, he was involved in the Hong Kong International Races and partnered Buccellati to finish sixth in the G1 Hong Kong Vase (2400m).

“That was very early on in my career when I was with Andrew Balding,” Buick recalls.

The LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) has meant a lot to leading homegrown jockey Vincent Ho, who has just joined one of horse racing’s most elite clubs with his 600th Hong Kong winner last Wednesday (27 November). Victor of the last year’s edition of LONGINES IJC, Ho not only hailed it as one of his career highlights but also the event provided him a learning opportunity to compete with other world-class riders, so he can keep improving to become a better jockey.