Hong Kong’s Centenary Sprint Cup has attained Group 1 status ahead of the 2017/18 season and will carry a purse of HK$10 million, a HK$2 million increase that aligns its value with other Group 1 events staged at Sha Tin Racecourse.

The 1200m contest’s upgrade brings the total number of Hong Kong Group 1 races to 12 and follows the Asian Pattern Committee’s endorsement of an application from the Hong Kong Pattern Committee.

The Centenary Sprint Cup was run at international Group 2 level in 2017 following 16 years as a domestic Hong Kong Group 1. The list of past winners reads like an honour roll of Hong Kong’s sprinting stars, including two-time winners Silent Witness (2004, 2005), Sacred Kingdom (2010, 2011), Eagle Regiment (2012, 2013) and Peniaphobia (2015, 2017),  along with former Horse of the Year Grand Delight (2003), and Champion Sprinters Absolute Champion (2008) and Aerovelocity (2016). This will be the third consecutive season in which the Centenary Sprint Cup is contested over 1200m after having been run over 1000m for most of its history.

The race is scheduled for Sunday, 28 January at Sha Tin Racecourse, offering racing fans a Group 1 double on the day with the G1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m) on the same programme.