HONG KONG - Precision completed a banner day for Hong Kong-based horses on a card punctuated by similar longshots with a 64-1 surprise in the $2.32 million Hong Kong Cup, the richest of the four Hong Kong International Races on Sunday at Sha Tin Racecourse.

Precision's price was a record for the International Races. He won a head bob over 20-1 shot Paolini after they dueled through the final furlong of the 1 1/4-mile race. Dano-Mast, at 30-1, was third, with third-choice Sarafan an unlucky fourth after a rough trip. Grandera, the 7-10 favorite, was seventh in the field of 12.

Rooster Booster, the 6-5 favorite, won Saturday's Grade 2 Victor Chandler Bula Hurdle at Cheltenham in England by 2 1/2 lengths. The American entry, Al Skywalker, was pulled up after setting the early pace in the 2 1/8-mile race.

Jockey Tom Foley went to the front on 33-1 Al Skywalker, who was soon in the clear despite jumping awkwardly at the first three hurdles. Al Skywalker, who is trained by Jennifer Majette, was soon under pressure; he weakened quickly when hampered by the fall of last year's champion hurdler, Hors La Loi III.

HONG KONG - For those of you playing the Hong Kong International Races on Sunday, here are the late scratches as of Saturday night Hong Kong time:

SPRINT - Malhub has been withdrawn, his place taken by the rank longshot Thunder.

MILE - Jeune King Prawn is out.

CUP - Red Pepper has been scratched.

HONG KONG - The overwhelming popularity of horse racing in Hong Kong, and the staggering handle, is nearly incomprehensible to anyone from a country where racing usually struggles for attention. Of the seven million people who live here, 1.1 million have betting accounts through their phone or computer, and there are 120 clean, inviting offtrack betting facilities. Racing is held just twice a week - usually Wednesday night at Happy Valley and Sunday at Sha Tin - with three months off in the summer.

Al Skywalker will have to run the race of his life if he is to have any chance in the 2 1/8-mile Grade 2 Bula Hurdle at Cheltenham on Saturday. He has won five graded races over jumps in America, but he will be facing many of Europe's best hurdlers in this prep for the Champion Hurdle, to be run March 11.

Victory for Al Skywalker will be made difficult by the soft ground.

"We're worried a little bit about the going," said his rider, Tom Foley. "He's never run on this kind of surface back home."

HONG KONG - Draws for post positions are usually held in a racing secretary's office. A numbered pill is selected, along with an entry card for each horse, and in a few minutes, an entire card is drawn. This process is witnessed by a few people from the racing office, jockey agents clamoring for last-second mounts, and the occasional visitor who took a wrong turn looking for the bathroom. It is not high drama. Nor should it be.

HONG KONG - Grandera's greatest asset has been his ability to travel the globe and hold his form while facing the best horses. Sunday, this admirable quality makes him vulnerable.

Grandera will be favored to take Sunday's $2.32 million Hong Kong Cup, the richest and most important of the four Hong Kong International Races to be run on grass at Sha Tin Racecourse. But he is at the end of an ambitious season, and might be ripe for an upset.

HONG KONG - A dozen of the world's best jockeys descended on picturesque Happy Valley Racecourse for Wednesday night's International Jockey Championship, but one of two representing Hong Kong, South African native Douglas Whyte, came away with the first prize by scoring points in all three races, including a victory in the final leg.

Whyte brought home favored Danehill Warrior in the last of the three races, giving him 19 points. Whyte also finished fourth in the first leg and third in the second leg in a competition that awarded points for the first five spots.

HONG KONG - The fastest horse in the United States this year was Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Orientate, but you would get an argument about whether he is the best sprinter in the world from the connections of Falvelon, the Australian speedster who will be seeking a third consecutive victory in Sunday's five-furlong Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin Racecourse.

BANGKOK, Thailand - The horses had reached the starting gate, about 15 minutes after first entering the track. They began loading and three minutes later they were all in line. It seemed odd that few people in the crowd of nearly 20,000 at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club had ventured toward the betting windows. But they knew the horses would not be coming out of the gate for another 15 minutes.