Sha Tin has provided the stage for racing’s leading players since 1978 and 2019 has been another memorable year in the life of Hong Kong’s flagship racecourse. Graham Cunningham reflects on some of the key moments as the days tick away to 2020.

Beauty bounds to perfect season

Records tumbled as Beauty Generation made every yard for a second consecutive Champions Mile success in April.

Viva Pataca’s Hong Kong prize money record of $84.77m fell as John Moore’s gelding cruised home clear under Zac Purton. In doing so Beauty Generation completed a perfect eight-race season, bettering the previous best seasonal tally of seven wins shared by Ambitious Dragon and Entrapment and sealing a second Horse of the Year title in the process.

“It’s an amazing achievement,” said Moore. “We’ve had a champion in our midst and the whole world knows we’ve got one hell of a miler over here.”

Furore makes Frankie’s Derby dream come true

Frankie Lor didn’t have a runner in the BMW Hong Kong Derby in his first season with a training licence but made up for it in his second as Furore stormed to victory under Hugh Bowman.

Lor became the first homegrown handler to land the Derby since Brian Kan in 2001 and, having also won the Classic Mile with Furore and the Classic Cup with Mission Tycoon, he emulated John Moore by sweeping all three legs of the Classic Series. “I cannot express how I feel,” he said. “It’s very difficult to get a horse into the Derby, let alone win, so it’s a dream come true.”

Win Bright blooms in clock busting QEII Cup success

Beat The Clock and Beauty Generation struck for the home team in the first two G1 contests on FWD Champions Day but Japan claimed victory in the FWD QEII Cup as 47-1 outsider Win Bright stormed home under Masami Matsuoka to beat Exultant and Lys Gracieux in record-breaking fashion.

A searching gallop meant the first eight home all broke the two minute barrier for Sha Tin’s 2000m and Win Bright became the first horse ever to dip below 1m 59.00s, stopping the clock at 1m 58.81s as he earned a first top level victory.

“I hope he will gain more power and develop and we would love to come back in December for the Hong Kong Cup,” said winning trainer Yoshihiro Hatakeyama. And come back they did.

Vincent joins 250 Club in year of milestones

2019 was a year of notable career milestones in Hong Kong racing and Sha Tin played host to most of them. Vincent Ho rode his 250th winner aboard Lucky Hero as part of his breakthrough season in April, while Me Tsui trained his 500th when Sky Treasure scored in May.

Danny Shum hit 600 when Fantasy made a winning debut in November, Zac Purton broke through the 1000 barrier when Thanks Forever scored in June, and Tony Cruz and John Size passed 1200 when Exultant and Hezthewonforus saluted in January and May respectively.

Douglas flexes training muscles with Adonis

Douglas Whyte has a long way to go to match the winning totals achieved by some of his former employers but the longest journey starts with a single step.

The Durban Demon was given an emotional sendoff on his last day in the saddle at Sha Tin in  February and Adonis entered the history books as the legendary rider’s first winner as a trainer when he scored on the opening day of a new season in September.

Whyte looked back 23 years to compare his first training success with his first Hong Kong riding success aboard Fireball. “It’s just as emotional,” he said. “It’s Hong Kong, this is my home, so it’s a special feeling.”

Japan steals the show at LONGINES HKIR

Amid one of the most challenging periods in Hong Kong history, the 2019 edition of LONGINES HKIR went ahead without a hitch and provided a perfect snapshot of the global racing year.

Japanese horses had already excelled in Dubai, the UK and Australia and the Land of the Rising Sun dazzled again on a glorious December day as Glory Vase, Admire Mars and Win Bright captured three of the four G1 contests in thrilling fashion.

Glory Vase powered his way into the world’s elite in the Vase under Joao Moreira, who also landed the Hong Kong Sprint on Beat The Clock.

Admire Mars paid a poignant tribute to recently deceased owner Riichi Kondo under Christophe Soumillon in the Mile; and Win Bright added the Cup to his QEII Cup success without an ounce to spare as he sealed one of the most memorable days in Japanese racing history.

HKJC CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges reflected on “a fantastic international race meeting” and paid tribute to the Japanese for supporting the event with an exceptional team of horses.

“The quality and excitement we have seen shows what Hong Kong racing is all about,” he added. “It is a day to celebrate because, despite a lot of challenges, we have staged something that I don’t think many organisations in the world could have.”

Purton a dominant champion

Zac Purton dominated from start to finish on his way to a third Hong Kong jockeys’ championship and rattled off his fourth six timer of the season in July to keep alive his chances of matching Moreira’s single season record of 170 winners.

“Six winners is a huge effort, of course it is, but I still need six more just to match Joao and I don’t know if I’ve got the horses to do that,” said the Aussie.

Purton was ultimately proved right but his final total of 168 represented by far his best seasonal total and it took an exceptional second half of the season from Frankie Dettori to wear him down in the race for the 2019 LONGINES World’s Best Jockey Award.

Size matters again in epic title battle

John Moore put up a tremendous fight but John Size got the better of an epic battle to land the trainers’ championship on the final day of the season.

Moore had drawn level briefly at the Happy Valley season finale a few days earlier but Size fired in a double on the final day to secure his eleventh title by 78-75.

Aethero still a rising star as 2020 beckons

A pressing deadline leaves little space for a string of other notable achievements but Beat The Clock and Exultant warrant honourable mentions having proved themselves worthy champions in the speed and stamina divisions.

Beat The Clock broke his G1 duck in January’s Centenary Sprint Cup and ended 2019 as the winner of all three of Hong Kong’s G1 sprints, while Exultant hit another new level by capturing four more big prizes including the Hong Kong Gold Cup and the Champions & Chater Cup.

Aethero couldn’t quite cope with Beat The Clock and Hot King Prawn in the Hong Kong Sprint but remains an outstanding prospect for 2020, while Rise High and Waikuku did enough to cement their place among the elite, first by denting Beauty Generation’s aura of invincibility and then by going close in HKIR contests.

Add in Elusive State as a star of the AW scene, Golden Sixty and More Than This staking early claims for the Classic Series and Alfred Chan becoming the latest winning apprentice off the Hong Kong production line and 2019 was a year to remember.

Old and new stars will shine again next year but, based on the evidence of the last twelve months. 2020 clearly has a lot to live up to.