The curtain has fallen on the 2001 Emirates World Series. The final leg of the Series, the Hong Kong Cup, was run at Sha Tin on 16 December. Saeed bin Suroor and Frankie Dettori claimed the titles of Champion Trainer and Champion Jockey respectively with their superb performances. They received their trophies from Keith Longstaff, General Manager of Emirates Airlines for Asia and Pacific Rim, in the presentation ceremony.

At the conclusion of the fiercely competed twelve leg series, Fantastic Light was crowned Champion Horse for the second year in succession with 30 points, well ahead of the second-placed Galileo. Dettori, rider of Fantastic Light, beat a number of top jockeys from around the world and was crowned Champion Jockey with 54 points. The Godolphin-commissioned Suroor was named Champion Trainer. This winning combination of jockey, trainer and horse has participated in three legs of the Series this year, scoring two wins and one second.

Fantastic Light secured his place as Champion Horse of the Series upon running the ninth leg Breeders' Cup Turf in October. He didn't run in Hong Kong but the Hong Kong Cup still had the spectators gripped by top quality action. In this 2000M Int'l G1 race, Agnes Digital ridden by Hirofumi Shii won by just a head after clashing with Dettori's Tobougg near the finish, enabling Japan to win a seat in the Series.

The World Series Racing Championship will be expanded further next year with the addition of two races, namely the QE II Cup (Int'l G1) and the Singapore Airlines International Cup, making a total of 14 races. The Hong Kong Cup will remain the finale of the Series.