The international racing calendar continues to gather momentum, and last weekend at Deauville provided another reminder of the depth and quality of competition being staged across Europe.
The Club was represented at Deauville on Saturday (15 August) by our Chairman, The Hon Martin Liao, and myself, as we presented the trophies for two races named in honour of the Club.
The G3 Prix Gontaut-Biron Hong Kong Jockey Club (2000m) went to WIMBLEDON HAWKEYE (Christophe Soumillon) for trainer George Scott, while the Prix du Champ Durand Hong Kong Jockey Club (1200m), a competitive 16-runner handicap, went to ADONIDE (Antoine Hamelin) for trainers Nicolas Clement and Frauke Hermans.
There was a happy coincidence in that second result. Nicolas trains several of my own horses, among them NOW FOREVER, who won last time out with Antoine in the saddle – two wins from three starts for that partnership. Antoine also rode here in Hong Kong. To be presenting a trophy carrying the Club’s name to connections I know so well was a pleasure.
Our partnership with France Galop is not ceremonial. Races named for the Club at Deauville in August are matched by our French May celebrations in the Happy Wednesday programme at Happy Valley. Each side gives something, and both sides gain.
On Sunday, the G1 Prix Jacques Le Marois (1600m) produced a landmark result. RAYIF (Mickael Barzalona), trained by Francis-Henri Graffard, came with a strong finish to beat ZEUS OLYMPIOS (Clifford Lee) by a neck, with PRECISE (Ryan Moore) third. The three-year-old completed the rare double of winning both the G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains (1600m) and the Prix Jacques Le Marois in the same season. It was France’s first win in the race since 2017, and the Aga Khan Studs’ first since KALAMOUN in 1973.
Attention now shifts to Great Britain, where York’s Ebor Festival begins tonight (19 August). All four days of this year’s festival form part of the World Pool programme.
Day one opens with the Hong Kong Jockey Club World Pool Handicap (1081m), carded as S1-1 and going to post at 8.50pm (Hong Kong time). Seeing our name on the opening race of one of Britain’s major summer festivals says a great deal about how far World Pool has come.
The feature is the G1 International Stakes (2051m), carded as S1-4 at 10.35pm. The £1.5 million contest is one of Europe’s premier weight-for-age races and has a roll of honour that includes some of the greatest thoroughbreds of the modern era.
Nine go to post, and two dominate the pre-race build-up. OMBUDSMAN (William Buick) won this last year and is three from three in 2026, including a four-length demolition in the G1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot. He currently shares the top spot in the LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings with our own KA YING RISING, which tells you everything about the level here. He is bidding to become the first back-to-back winner since HALLING 30 years ago.
Against him stands CONSTITUTION RIVER (Ryan Moore), unbeaten this season with the G1 Prix du Jockey Club and the G1 Eclipse Stakes to his name, and receiving 7lb from his elder. ITEM (Colin Keane) is two from two over course and distance after victories in the G2 Dante Stakes and the G2 York Stakes.
The meeting of established excellence and emerging talent makes this a fascinating contest, and York’s long, galloping straight should provide both principals with the opportunity to show their class. OMBUDSMAN is my win and place chance, with CONSTITUTION RIVER the clear danger and ITEM a place chance.
Thursday (20 August) is Ladies Day, and the G1 Yorkshire Oaks (2381m) brings the focus squarely to the fillies and mares. Carded as S2-4 and going to post at 10.35pm, it features another generational talent looking for back-to-back wins. MINNIE HAUK (Ryan Moore) returns to defend her crown, having already established herself as one of Europe’s leading fillies. The FRANKEL filly has faced some formidable opposition this season, but her second in the G1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot showed that she remains capable of competing at the highest level.
She faces a strong challenge from KALPANA (Colin Keane), who arrives off a career-best win in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, where she accounted for CALANDAGAN and BENVENUTO CELLINI. Rated 125 and back against her own sex, she is my win and place chance.
JOHANNA WALSH (Dylan Browne McMonagle) is the pick of the Classic generation after a four-length Irish Oaks win for Joseph O’Brien and, with 9lb from her elders, is a place chance.
Then on Friday (21 August), the emphasis shifts from stamina and tactical speed to pure acceleration in the G1 Nunthorpe Stakes (1000m), carded as S3-4 and scheduled for 10.35pm.
The Nunthorpe is one of the great sprinting tests in the world, with its five-furlong distance down the Knavesmire straight leaving no room for error. It is also one of the few Group 1 races in which two-year-olds can take on their older rivals, adding another fascinating dimension to the contest.
The field is properly international. BACIO is likely to head the market for American trainer Wesley Ward, having made a mockery of his handicap mark when bolting up from the front in the Palace Of Holyroodhouse Handicap at Royal Ascot. RAYEVKA carries French hopes for Francis-Henri Graffard after going desperately close in the G1 King Charles III Stakes. ASFOORA (Oisin Murphy) returns to defend her crown in what connections have confirmed will be the final start of her career.
There is a Hong Kong thread running through it too. Japan’s SATONO REVE will be partnered by Joao Moreira, who is flying in for the ride – a rider this city knows very well indeed. The dual G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen winner has twice been denied by the narrowest margin at Royal Ascot, and fans will remember him chasing home KA YING RISING in the G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize.
BACIO is my win and place chance – he has raw speed, and York’s flat, fair straight should let him use it. SATONO REVE and RAYEVKA are place chances, and nobody would begrudge ASFOORA a fairytale finish.
Source: Hong Kong Jockey Club