The Jockeys’ Sprint and Turf Barrier Trials were held at the 2025 Owners Carnival on Saturday afternoon (30 August) at Sha Tin Racecourse.
The day’s highlight was once again the annual Jockeys’ Sprint, with Hong Kong’s star jockeys pairing off for a 100m relay contest.
Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chief Executive Officer, The Hong Kong Jockey Club, took on the role of judge while Andrew Harding, Executive Director, Racing, The Hong Kong Jockey Club, acted as starter and got the race off to a clean break. Derek Leung and James Orman showed their rivals two clean pairs of heels to claim the unofficial “first race” of the season in a tight finish.
Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, presented a HK$5,000 cheque, the winning trophy and medals to Derek Leung and James Orman after the competition. Brenton Avdulla and Ellis Wong took up the 1st runner up, while Jerry Chau and Hugh Bowman were named 2nd runner up. The placegetters were also presented with medals and cheques for HK$3,000 and HK$2,000, respectively.
Six turf barrier trials were held on the day. The on-track action offered a taste of the exciting entertainment to come at the 2025/26 Season Opener at Sha Tin next Sunday, 7 September.