About Champion Sprint Series

The Champion Sprint Series was inaugurated in 1993/94. It is designed to identify and reward the outstanding sprinter in Hong Kong. The Champion Sprint Series comprises three Group 1 races including the Bauhinia Sprint Trophy (Gr. 1-1000m), the Centenary Sprint Cup (Gr.1-1000m) and the Chairman's Sprint Prize (Gr.1-1200m). Each leg carries a prize money of HK4.5 million.
Understanding the difficulty of the task, the Hong Kong Jockey Club has increased the bonus for any horse that can sweep the board from HK$1 million to HK$2 million. The consolation for winning two out of three legs has also doubled from HK$400,000 to HK$800,000.

The Bauhinia Sprint Trophy (1 February 2004) has been elevated to Group 1 status in 2001. It runs over 1,000m and for three year olds and upwards. It was run for the first time on 15 January 2000 in Sha Tin Racecourse as a Group 3 event replacing The Happy Valley Trophy (Gr. 3) as the first leg of the Champion Sprint Series. Holy Grail was the first winner of the Trophy.

The Centenary Sprint Cup (13 March 2004), a 1,000m competition, for horses aged three year old and upwards. The Cup was first competed for on 24 November 1984 to celebrate the centenary of the Hong Kong Jockey Club. Joey was the winner of the Cup for the first time.

The Chairman's Sprint Prize (25 April 2004), a 1,200m race for three year olds and upwards. The Chairman's Prize was inaugurated as the Hong Kong Sprint Championship in connection with the opening of Sha Tin racecourse. The race was first held on 29 April 1979 and won by Ever Win with Tony Cruz on board.

The Champion Sprint Series was inaugurated in 1993/94. Only Mr Vitality and Grand Delight have won all three legs in 1995/96 and 2002/03 respectively so far.