The first week of the 2026-27 Hong Kong racing season is in the books and there are plenty of reasons to be excited about what lies ahead this campaign.

Ka Ying show continues

The world’s best racehorse kicked off his season in stunning style, demolishing his own 1,200m track record by almost a second in his Group Three HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup romp last Sunday.

The eyes of the racing world will be on David Hayes’ superstar when he defends his crown in the Group One The Everest at Randwick next month and it all sets up for him to show just what he’s truly made of.

With 21 consecutive wins to his name, he has the chance to surpass Australian champion Black Caviar’s streak of 25 in a row this term.

Classic crop of four-year-olds

The Classic Series is already shaping up strongly with the likes of Hot Delight, Mr Incredible and Salon S showcasing big potential last term.

Four-year-olds Baby Sakura and Joyful Joy struck at the Sha Tin season opener and there are plenty of high-profile imports with Classic Mile, Classic Cup and Hong Kong Derby aspirations, which makes for an exciting build-up to the three features.

Who steps up in absence of Warrior?

With champion Romantic Warrior’s remarkable career coming to an end last week, there is a significant void in Hong Kong’s middle distance ranks.

Invincible Ibis wins the Hong Kong Derby under Hugh Bowman.

While Romantic Warrior’s feats are unlikely to ever be matched, it might be up to the likes of reigning Hong Kong Derby hero Invincible Ibis and runner-up Numbers to step up in races like the Group One Hong Kong Cup (2,000m) and Group One QE II Cup (2,000m) this season.

Romantic Warrior’s retirement could prompt Mark Newnham to change his original plan of keeping Invincible Ibis at a mile. The champion’s absence could also make the Hong Kong Cup and QE II Cup far more attractive options for strong international candidates.

Can Bubble bounce back?

Voyage Bubble would be an obvious choice to step up in the absence of Romantic Warrior, but last year’s Triple Crown victor lost form after his dramatic Group One Hong Kong Mile success in December.

Voyage Bubble has struggled to find form since his Champions Mile win.

A capped elbow forced Ricky Yiu Poon-fai’s prolific Group One winner to miss the Champions & Chater Cup (2,400m) in May. At the age of eight, he is certainly in the twilight of his career and retirement could come sooner rather than later if he does not recapture top form.

Cummings’ debut season

James Cummings is one of the more high-profile additions to Hong Kong’s training ranks in recent years and there will be plenty of attention on how he starts his new venture.

Godolphin Australia’s former head trainer has declared he will have a quiet start to the campaign, given his current stable of 47 gallopers is mostly made up of imports and unexposed gallopers.

There is no doubting his talent as a horseman and it will be interesting to see how he fares in his first Hong Kong season.

Comments0Comments