In terms of both quantity and quality, this year’s Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Races have attracted a terrific range of entries from all over the world. The Hong Kong Jockey Club has received 322 first nominations, including 79 individual Gr.1 winners, for the December 10 extravaganza at Sha Tin.

Twenty-six of the world’s top 40 turf horses are present in the initial entries and they incorporate the world’s top-ranked miler and sprinter (George Washington, Takeover Target) and the best females (Ouija Board, Pride). “The list of nominations for this year’s Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Races is exceptional and very much worthy of the Turf World Championships,” said Mr Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, the Executive Director of Racing. “We have significantly raised prize-money levels and increased the distance of the Sprint to lure the best in the world to Hong Kong and the response has been very positive. We believe these changes have resulted in a better balance to the nominations and we are really looking forward to presenting to the world a special race meeting that promises to be our best ever.”

Highlight nominations for CXHKIR 2006:

Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint (HK$12m – US$1.6m – Gr.1 – 1200m) – Increasing the Sprint’s distance to 1200m from 1000m has had the desired effect with much stronger international entries – 17 Gr.1 winners in total and Takeover Target tops the bill. The Aussie phenomenon will earn a US$1m bonus should he prove successful at Sha Tin having already won the Lightning, King’s Stand and Sprinters Stakes in Australia, England and Japan respectively this year. Takeover Target can expect to face Silent Witness, winner of this event in 2003 and 2004, last year’s victor Natural Blitz, Les Arcs, winner of the Golden Jubilee Stakes and July Cup and the Centaur Stakes winner from Japan, She Is Tosho.

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