The Hong Kong Gold Cup is a Group One Hong Kong Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1979 at Sha Tin Racecourse. It is open to horses three years of age and older. Run on turf, it was initially run over a distance of 1,800 metres, but is now set at 2,000 metres (ten furlongs) and it offers a purse of HK$12,000,000.

Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup
Group 1 race
LocationSha Tin Racecourse
Hong Kong
Inaugurated1979
Race typeFlat / Thoroughbred
SponsorCitibank
WebsiteCiti Hong Kong Gold Cup
Race information
Distance2,000 meters
(About 10 furlongs / 1+14 miles)
SurfaceTurf
TrackRight-handed
QualificationThree-years-old and up
Weight116 lb (3y); 126 lb (4y+)
Allowances
4 lb for fillies and mares
3 lb for N. Hemisphere 3-y-o
PurseHK$12,000,000 (2022)

The second leg of the Hong Kong Triple Crown the Group One race comes after the Steward's Cup and is followed by the Hong Kong Champions & Chater Cup. A HK$5,000,000 bonus is paid to the owner of the horse winning all three legs of the Triple Crown Series and a consolation bonus of HK$2,000,000 will be paid to the owner of the horse winning any two legs.

Hong Kong Champion and former Horse of the Year River Verdon won this race three times and in 1994 became the only horse to ever win the Triple Crown.

Recent winners of the Hong Kong Gold Cup

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Year
Winner
Age
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Time
1993 River Verdon 6 Basil Marcus David Hill Oswald Cheung & Ronald Arculli 2:01.60
1994 River Verdon 7 John Marshall David Hill Oswald Cheung & Ronald Arculli 2:03.20
1995 Makarpura Star 4 Tony Cruz John Moore Frank Wong Wing Pak 2:04.70
1996 Makarpura Star 5 Felix Coetzee John Moore Frank Wong Wing Pak 2:03.40
1997 Deauville 5 Eric Saint-Martin Tony Cruz Tam Man Wai & Wilson Tam Man Shu 2:03.10
1998 Indigenous 5 Basil Marcus Ivan Allan Pang Yuen Hing 2:02.50
1999 Indigenous 6 Douglas Whyte Ivan Allan Pang Yuen Hing 2:01.30
2000 Industrialist 4 Alan Munro Brian Kan Ping-chee Albert Hu Si Nok & Peter Wong Yau Ming 2:00.20
2001 Idol 4 Michael Kinane David Oughton Wong Chi Muk 2:02.10
2002 Industrial Pioneer [1] 5 Gerald Mosse Brian Kan Ping-chee Albert Hu Si Nok, Ngan Keng Hing, Tang Ying Hon & Kenneth Kong 2:02.40
2003 Olympic Express 5 Eric Saint-Martin Ivan Allan Larry Yung Chi Kin 2:02.90
2004 Bullish Luck 5 Felix Coetzee Tony Cruz Wong Wing Keung 2:02.30
2005 Perfect Partner 5 Christophe Soumillon Tony Cruz Gowin Chan/Ringo Ng 2:06.30
2006 Super Kid 6 Shane Dye John Moore Wong Yuk Kwan 2:02.80
2007 Vengeance of Rain 6 Anthony Delpech David Ferraris Chow Nam & R. G. Chow Hon Man 2:04.40
2008 Viva Pataca 6 Darren Beadman John Moore Stanley Ho Hung-Sun 2:03.90
2009 Viva Pataca 7 Darren Beadman John Moore Stanley Ho Hung-Sun 2:04.61
2010 Collection 5 Darren Beadman John Moore 07/08 John Moore Trainer Syndicate 2:01.60
2011 California Memory 5 Matthew Chadwick Tony Cruz Liang Yum Shing 2:01.61
2012 Ambitious Dragon 5 Douglas Whyte Tony Millard Johnson Lam Pui Hung & Anderson Lam Him Yue 2:02.88
2013 Military Attack 5 Zac Purton John Moore Mr & Mrs Steven Lo Kit Sing 2:03.01
2014 Military Attack 6 João Moreira John Moore Mr & Mrs Steven Lo Kit Sing 2:01.21
2015 Designs on Rome 5 João Moreira John Moore Cheng Keung Fai 2.01.57
2016 Designs on Rome 6 Tommy Berry John Moore Cheng Keung Fai 2.01.51
2017 Werther 5 Hugh Bowman John Moore Johnson Chen 2.03.78
2018 Time Warp 5 Zac Purton Tony Cruz Martin Siu Kim Sun 1:59.97
2019 Exultant 5 Zac Purton Tony Cruz Eddie Wong Ming Chak & Wong Leung Sau Hing 2:00.87
2020 Time Warp 7 João Moreira Tony Cruz Martin Siu Kim Sun 2:02.00
2021 Golden Sixty 5 Vincent Ho Chak-yiu Francis Lui Kin-wai Stanley Chan 2:00.25
2022 Russian Emperor 5 Blake Shinn Douglas Whyte Mike Cheung Shun Ching 2:04.11
2023 Golden Sixty 7 Vincent Ho Chak-yiu Francis Lui Kin-wai Stanley Chan 1:59.98
2024 Romantic Warrior 6 James McDonald Danny Shum Chap-shing Peter Lau Pak Fai 2:00.31

1 The 2002 winner Industrial Pioneer was later exported to Europe and renamed Sobriety.

See also

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References

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