Alexis Badel and Vincent Ho join Zac Purton and Joao Moreira as Hong Kong’s representatives for the 2021 LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship at Happy Valley Racecourse on Wednesday, 8 December.
Joining the roster for the second time in a row, Alexis Badel will look to better his joint-third placing in the competition last year (shared with Hollie Doyle) when he lines up in the event next month.
Badel’s 19 wins this campaign earned him the coveted spot which is available to the highest ranked rider in Hong Kong (excluding those already selected to compete) at the conclusion of this evening’s (Wednesday, 24 November) Happy Valley race meeting.
Vincent Ho – a graduate of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Apprentice Jockeys’ School – takes the final spot available as the leading homegrown rider. Ho snared the slot with 16 wins this term and he will feature in his fifth LONGINES IJC.
The HK$800,000 LONGINES IJC is a four-race competition for 12 elite jockeys, and this year’s edition features eight overseas riders and four based in Hong Kong, all battling for the HK$500,000 top prize, the most lucrative jockeys’ challenge winner’s cheque in the world.
The list of this year’s invitees for the LONGINES IJC was announced on 18 November, and against Hong Kong’s team of four is an exciting overseas cast, featuring Ryan Moore, James McDonald, Yuga Kawada, Tom Marquand, Hollie Doyle, Damian Lane, Mickael Barzalona and Lyle Hewitson.
