The Chairman’s Sprint Prize, contested over 1200 metres on Sunday, 1 May 2016 at Sha Tin Racecourse, has been added to the Global Sprint Challenge (GSC) for 2016.
Elevated to International Group 1 status by the International Race Planning Advisory Committee in October 2015, the Chairman’s Sprint Prize takes the place vacated by the KrisFlyer International Sprint, a race discontinued after last year’s edition.
The ten-race series, comprising some of the world’s elite Group 1 sprint races, will now include two events from Hong Kong, as the Chairman’s Sprint Prize joins the LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint. A US$1 million bonus is available to the connections of any horse which can land three GSC races in three different jurisdictions. The bonus has proved elusive since it was first launched, with no horse claiming the prize as yet.
“The Chairman’s Sprint Prize has played host to some of the great sprinters in Hong Kong, and we now look forward to the added prestige given the status bestowed by the Global Sprint Challenge Committee,” said Mr. William A. Nader, Executive Director of Racing for the Hong Kong Jockey Club. “We shifted the race to May 1 in order to bridge the gap in GSC events between the Dubai Golden Shaheen and Takamatsunomiya Kinen at the end of March and the King’s Stand in June.”
First introduced in 2005, the GSC includes races in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.
“Some of Hong Kong’s best sprinters were two-time winners of the Chairman’s Sprint Prize, including the great Silent Witness, Sacred Kingdom and Fairy King Prawn,” added Mr. Nader. “More recently, Lucky Nine, himself a three-time winner of Global Sprint Challenge events, won consecutive editions of the race. It promises to be a worthy addition to the GSC slate.”
The 2016 Global Sprint Challenge launches on 20 February with the Black Caviar Lightning at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne.
2016 Global Sprint Challenge Schedule
AUSTRALIA
Black Caviar Lightning Stakes (Group 1)
Saturday, 20 February, Flemington
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Dubai Golden Shaheen (Group 1)
Saturday, 26 March, Meydan
JAPAN
Takamatsunomiya Kinen (Group 1)
Sunday, 27 March, Chukyo
HONG KONG
Chairman’s Sprint Prize (Group 1)
Sunday, 1 May, Sha Tin
UNITED KINGDOM
King’s Stand Stakes (Group 1)
Tuesday, 14 June, Royal Ascot
Diamond Jubilee Stakes (Group 1)
Saturday, 18 June, Royal Ascot
Darley July Cup (Group 1)
Saturday, 9 July, Newmarket
JAPAN
Sprinters Stakes (Group 1)
Sunday, 2 October, Nakayama
AUSTRALIA
Darley Classic (Group 1)
Saturday, 5 November, Flemington
HONG KONG
LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (Group 1)
Sunday, 11 December, Sha Tin
