Joao Moreira will not be around to capitalise on Mission Tycoon’s long-term potential but the outgoing ace is banking on the promising three-year-old delivering a timely victory in Sunday’s Class 2 Hong Kong Reunification Cup Handicap (1200m).

Rider Joao Moreira sparked the jockeys’ championship battle to life with a quickfire early double at Happy Valley on Wednesday night, but title leader Zac Purton’s victory on Doctor Geoff in the night’s feature ensured that he still holds a commanding lead in the title race with five meetings left to go in the season.

Trainer John Size hopes to make up for lost time with Insayshable when the Irish import contests the Class 2 Manawatu Racing Club Challenge Trophy Handicap (1800m) at Happy Valley on Wednesday night.

California Whip displayed abundant grit to hold his pressing opponents in the Group 3 Premier Cup Handicap (1400m) at Sha Tin Racecourse on Sunday afternoon, ensuring trainer Tony Cruz’s completion of a remarkable run of big-race success.

Exultant raced to an authoritative victory in the Group 3 Premier Plate Handicap (1800m) at Sha Tin Racecourse on Sunday matching obvious aptitude with a willing resolve to gallop a length and a quarter clear of his closest rival.

Setbacks, an earthquake, weight loss, a wide draw and firm ground could not stop Werther’s bid for glory in the G1 Takarazuka Kinen (2200m), but a Rocket could as the champion stayer fell just short of victory at Hanshin Racecourse on Sunday.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club, in partnership with Ascot and Totepool, will launch a new Ascot World Pool for Royal Ascot in 2019.

Trainer John Moore hopes that the G1 Takarazuka Kinen (2200m) may prove to be the first part of a two-leg match-up between Japan and Hong Kong when Werther contests the 325 million yen (HK$23 million) feature at Hanshin on Sunday.

Werther may not have returned to his original home of New Zealand, but trainer John Moore believes the similarities between the land of the long white cloud and his current Japanese environment.....

The Premier Plate Handicap (1800m) kicks off a Group 3 double header at Sha Tin on Sunday and the first of the afternoon’s features will see trainer Tony Cruz provide jockeys’ premiership rivals Zac Purton and Joao Moreira each with an opportunity.

Sha Tin Racecourse stages the final Pattern race of the 2017/18 season on Sunday with the Premier Cup Handicap (1400m) being the second of two Group 3 contests on a cracking 10-race card.

Owner Johnson Chen watched Werther experience Hanshin Racecourse for the first time on Thursday and revealed that he is fulfilling a lifelong dream in bringing his 2015/16 Hong Kong Horse of the Year to Japan to contest Sunday’s Gr.1 Takarazuka Kinen (2200m).

Following the two successful shipments of a total of 35 Racing Development Board (RDB) horses from Hong Kong to the Conghua Training Centre (CTC) on 12 June and 14 June, all horses have been settling extremely well in the Club's state-of-the-art training centre.

Joao Moreira became just the fifth rider in Hong Kong racing history to reach the 700-win milestone at Sha Tin on Saturday, partnering a treble to boot, but the Brazilian could not make any headway on rival Zac Purton in the jockeys’ championship as the Australian produced a treble of his own.

Jockey Karis Teetan believes that Morethanlucky is capable of joining a select group of five-time winners this season by taking Saturday's Class 2 Lung Mun Road Handicap (1600m) at Sha Tin.
 

Hot King Prawn continued his ascent through the grades with a convincing performance in the Class 2 Wong Nai Chung Gap Handicap (1200m) at Happy Valley Racecourse on Wednesday night, a win that helped jockey Zac Purton draw five clear in the title race.

The following is a summary of decisions that were made by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Licensing Committee at their meeting held earlier on Friday:-

Hot King Prawn (130lb) will experience a Happy Valley race night for the first time on Wednesday, the talented grey’s assignment being the Class 2 Wong Nai Chung Gap Handicap (1200m).

After a series of cross-boundary horse movement trial runs over a two-year period, Conghua Training Centre (CTC) became operational on Tuesday when the first horses to be stabled at CTC arrived

Zac Purton will enter the final nine meetings of the Hong Kong racing season as the jockeys’ championship leader for the first time this term after the Australian rider scored a double at Sha Tin on Sunday.

Zac Purton battled through a mild dose of flu to snare two victories at Happy Valley on Wednesday evening and closed to within a single win of Champion Jockey Joao Moreira in the Hong Kong title race.

Trainer Tony Cruz prepared his second feature race trifecta in a week at Sha Tin on Sunday as The Golden Age led home stablemates Beauty Only and Romantic Touch to take the G3 Lion Rock Trophy Handicap (1600m).

Trainer John Moore admitted that the “jury’s out” about a Japanese trip with Werther (133lb) after the six-year-old finished sixth in the Lion Rock Trophy at Sha Tin on Sunday, four and a quarter lengths from the winner.

Western Express was unable to match the strength of Japan’s best milers when 10th in the G1 Yasuda Kinen (1600m) at Tokyo Racecourse on Sunday but connections were proud of the gelding’s effort, nonetheless.

Mount Fuji was out to greet Sam Clipperton at Tokyo Racecourse on Friday morning and the first-time visitor didn’t miss the Instagram moment, slipping his phone from khaki shorts and snapping a grab of the distant azure-backed white peak.

Jockey Joao Moreira believes that The Golden Age has the form on the board to score a first Hong Kong stakes success when he contests Sunday’s G3 Lion Rock Trophy Handicap (1600m) at Sha Tin.