The free entry period for the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s three spring Group 1 features, the Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2000m), the Champions Mile (1600m) and the Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m), will close on Monday, 19 March at 6pm (Hong Kong time).
The three races will be run on the same day for the first time on Sunday, 29 April at Sha Tin Racecourse.
Each race will carry record prize money this year. The AP QEII Cup, Hong Kong’s second-richest race, will offer HK$24 million, while the Champions Mile and Chairman’s Sprint Prize will carry increased purses of HK$18 million and HK$16 million, respectively.
Hong Kong’s pattern races are open for all overseas competitors to enter, the jurisdiction having achieved “Blue Book” Part 1 status in 2016. Entries can be submitted through the Online Entry Form at the Hong Kong Jockey Club website, or through the Club’s appointed agents.
The Jockey Club website also features an online version of the Hong Kong Pattern Book. Click on this link to access the page with the Hong Kong Pattern Book and Online Entry Form.
Overseas raiders have claimed the AP QEII Cup on 12 occasions, including the 2017 running when Japan’s Neorealism scored a neck victory over home town hero Pakistan Star.
All three races rank in the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities’ (IFHA) World’s Top 100 Group 1 Races, with the Chairman’s Sprint Prize joint 34th in 2017, the highest-rated race in Hong Kong last year.
Supplementary entries for the AP QEII Cup, Champions Mile, and Chairman’s Sprint Prize will close at 6pm (HK time) on 9 April.
