Cruz, Tony
Age: 59. Tony Cruz is a son of Johnny Cruz, a renowned rider from Hong Kong’s amateur era. His brother, Derek Cruz, is also a trainer. He was among the first intake of apprentices to the HKJC Apprentice Jockeys’ School when that facility opened in 1972. Cruz started his riding career in the 1973/74 season. He went on to be Hong Kong's champion jockey six times (1978/79, 1980/81, 1982/83, 1983/84, 1985/86, 1994/95) and rode 946 winners. Cruz also made his name at G1 level in Europe and notably partnered the great race mare Triptych. He was granted a Hong Kong trainer’s licence in 1996 and first landed the trainers' title in 1999/2000. He regained the crown in 2005, setting a then record for a season's winners (91) and earnings (HK$113m) in the process. He most famously trained the great Hong Kong champion Silent Witness to win 17 consecutive races before tasting defeat. His notable wins include: Hong Kong Mile (2003 Lucky Owners, 2010 Beauty Flash), Hong Kong Cup (2011 & 2012 California Memory), Hong Kong Sprint (2003 & 2004 Silent Witness, 2015 Peniaphobia), Champions Mile (2005 & 2006 Bullish Luck), AP QEII Cup (2015 Blazing Speed), Hong Kong Derby (2004 Lucky Owners, 2008 Helene Mascot), Sprinters Stakes (2005 Silent Witness) and Yasuda Kinen (2006 Bullish Luck). Hong Kong Career Wins (as of 28 April): 1053 (win strike rate: 10.69%).
Enebish, Ganbat
Age: 58. Mongolian native Ganbat Enebish sprang on to the world scene when his first Breeders’ cup runner, Mongolian Saturday, proved to be a winner. The five-year-old won the G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint last October to give Enebish his first ever top-flight victory. Enebish’s lifelong involvement with horses led to him commencing a career as a trainer in Mongolia back in 1995, but with a focus on conditioning Mongolian ponies for endurance distances on that country’s local circuit. He moved to Lexington to try his hand at training thoroughbreds and in 2011 he took out a trainer’s licence. He is backed by Mongolian businessman Ganbaatar Dagvadorj who owns the 12 horses in Enebish’s barn.
Gibson, Richard
Age: 46. Englishman Richard Gibson established himself as a Group 1 trainer in France before he arrived in Hong Kong for the 2011/12 season. He gained a solid grounding in the art of training racehorses with Frenchmen Pascal Bary and Henri-Alex Pantall, as well as Americans Bill Mott and Gary Jones. He took out his first licence at Chantilly in 1996 and struck gold as early as 1999 when Lady of Chad won the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac en route to becoming European Champion Juvenile Filly. He has trained the winners of seven G1s altogether, the highlights being Akeed Mofeed’s and Doctor Dino’s exploits in Hong Kong and the USA. Other notable wins are: Hong Kong Vase (Doctor Dino 2007 & 2008), Hong Kong Cup (2013 Akeed Mofeed), Stewards’ Cup (2016 Giant Treasure), Hong Kong Derby (2013 Akeed Mofeed), Hong Kong Classic Mile (2013 Gold-Fun), Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (2014 Gold-Fun), Chairman’s Sprint Prize (2015 Gold-Fun), Prix Marcel Boussac (1999 Lady Of Chad), Prix Saint-Alary (2002 Marotta), Premio Lydia Tesio (2004 Lune D’Or), Man O’ War Stakes (2007 Doctor Dino). Hong Kong Career Wins (as of 28 April): 144 (win strike rate: 7.92%).
Hawkes, Michael
Michael Hawkes trains in partnership with his father, Hall of Famer and 10-time Australian premiership winner, John, and brother, Wayne. Michael runs the partnership’s stable at Rosehill Gardens, while Wayne oversees the Flemington base and John splits his time between the two. He started out working in his father’s stable after school and at age 21 he was ready to take over management of the Brisbane satellite stable. During his nine years in Brisbane, the team won two premierships and was runner-up five times. He moved to Sydney’s Rosehill Gardens when the Hawkes Racing partnership was formally established in 2008. Stable star Chautauqua has won four G1s in the past two season, the last two editions of the T. J. Smith Stakes, the Manikato Stakes and Black Caviar Lightning Stakes.
Heathcote, Robert
Age 56, Robert Heathcote spent 15 years travelling the world from the age of 19, so the former photo engraver and tour guide came into racing relatively late in life as racing manager to his brother. He took out his own licence to train in 1997, armed with a horse physiology book, and has since notched over 1000 wins and has the 2013/14 Queensland Premiership to go with his five metro premiership titles. Based out of Eagle Farm, his first G1 strike came in the 2012 Oakleigh Plate with Woorim. Solzhenitsyn annexed the Toorak Handicap in 2012 and retained it in 2013, but it is another bargain buy that is his stable standard-bearer, the sprinter Buffering. Heathcote has saddled Buffering to seven G1 wins, the Manikato Stakes, VRC Sprint Classic, Winterbottom Stakes (2013 & 2015), Moir Stakes (2014 & 2015) and most recently the G1 Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan in March.
Lui, Francis
Age: 57. Francis Lui emerged from the HKJC Apprentice Jockeys' School to ride 36 winners as a licensed jockey between 1975 and 1982, and later became an assistant trainer. He received his own licence to train in 1996/97. His biggest win to date came with his smart 2000m runner Hello Pretty in the 2006 Hong Kong Derby Trial. His stable standard bearer in recent seasons has been Smart Volatility, runner-up in last season's G2 Jockey Club Sprint but this season he has unearthed a diamond in Lucky Bubbles, winner of the HKG2 Sprint Trophy. Other notable wins include: HKG3 Sha Tin Trophy (2001 Shaxi Fortune), HKG3 Sha Tin Vase (2008 Sunny Power). Hong Kong Career Wins (as of 28 April): 513 (win strike rate: 7.05%)
Millard, Tony
Age: 54. Tony Millard’s father was the legendary multiple South African champion trainer Terrance Millard. Millard made an impressive start to his own training career in 1991. He was champion trainer in South Africa twice (1992, 1994 [shared with Pat Shaw]) and won all of that country’s majors. He trained three Horses of the Year there in Empress Club, Jet Master and Surfing Home. He sent out 39 G1 winners in his first nine years of training before relocating to Hong Kong. He made an immediate impact locally, winning the 2000 Hong Kong Derby in his first season, with Keen Winner. His most spectacular successes in Hong Kong have come with two-time Horse of the Year Ambitious Dragon whose 13 career wins included two G1s and five local G1s. Millard took Hong Kong's star mare Sweet Sanette to Royal Ascot in 2011 where she finished third in the G1 King's Stand Stakes, while Super Jockey was a close second in the 2015 G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen. Other notable wins include: Hong Kong Mile (2012 Ambitious Dragon), AP QEII Cup (2011 Ambitious Dragon), Hong Kong Derby (2000 Keen Winner, 2011 Ambitious Dragon), Stewards’ Cup (2012 Ambitious Dragon), Hong Kong Gold Cup (2012 Ambitious Dragon), Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (2013 Ambitious Dragon), Durban July (1993 Dancing Duel), J & B Met (1993 Empress Club, 1995 Surfing Home), Queen’s Plate (1993 Empress Club, 1999 Jet Master). Hong Kong Career Wins (as of 28 April, 2016): 504 (win strike rate: 8.33%).
Moore, John
Age: 66. John Moore has been involved in Hong Kong racing since the professional era commenced in 1971 and is Hong Kong's longest-serving and winning-most trainer. A former amateur jockey, he began training in 1985, before which time he held the position of assistant trainer to his late famous father, George. In 2007 he prepared an international G1 double thanks to Viva Pataca in the Audemars Piguet QEII Cup and Able One in the Champions Mile and, in a feat perhaps unprecedented in the sport, won the same two races with the same two horses three years later. The seven-time Hong Kong Champion Trainer (1985/86, 1990/91, 1991/92, 1992/93 [tied with David Hill], 1994/95, 2010/11, 2014/15) was the first to saddle 1000 wins in Hong Kong and has been the leading prize money earner for the past 10 seasons. He holds the record for all-time career prize money (HK$1.58 billion as of 28 April, 2016) and the record for most prize money in a season (HK$139,938,247 in 2014/15). His notable wins include: Hong Kong Mile (2011 Able One, 2014 Able Friend), Hong Kong Cup (1993 Motivation, 2014 Designs On Rome), Hong Kong Sprint (2008 Inspiration), Hong Kong Vase (2013 Dominant), Champions Mile (2007 & 2010 Able One, 2011 & 2012 Xtension, 2013 Dan Excel, 2015 Able Friend), AP QEII Cup (2007 & 2010 Viva Pataca, 2013 Military Attack, 2014 Designs On Rome), Hong Kong Derby (1995 Makarpura Star, 2006 Viva Pataca, 2009 Collection, 2014 Designs On Rome, 2016 Werther), Stewards’ Cup (2015 Able Friend), Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (2006 & 2007 Joyful Winner, 2015 Able Friend), Hong Kong Gold Cup (2006 Super Kid, 2008 & 2009 Viva Pataca, 2010 Collection, 2013 & 2014 Military Attack, 2015 Designs On Rome), Singapore Airlines International Cup (2013 Military Attack, 2014 & 2015 Dan Excel), Dubai Golden Shaheen (2014 Sterling City). Hong Kong Career Wins (as of 28 April): 1487 (win strike rate: 10.57%).
O’Sullivan, Paul
Age: 57. Paul O'Sullivan was Champion Trainer in New Zealand on 11 occasions, acting in partnership with his father Dave for 17 years. His brother, Lance, New Zealand's all-time winning-most jockey, is also a trainer. O'Sullivan won the G1 Japan Cup in 1989 with Horlicks, ridden by his brother, and added scores of other majors on both sides of the Tasman Sea, including the G1 Cox Plate with Surfers Paradise in 1991. He arrived in Hong Kong to train in 2004. In the 2014/15 season he sent out Aerovelocity to become the first Hong Kong horse to win G1 races in three different jurisdictions, en route to the Champion Sprinter title. Other notable race wins include: Hong Kong Sprint (2014 Aerovelocity), Hong Kong Derby (2007 Vital King), Stewards' Cup (2010 Fellowship), Japan Cup (1989 Horlicks), Cox Plate (1991 Surfers Paradise), Takamatsunomiya Kinen (2015 Aerovelocity), KrisFlyer International Sprint (2015 Aerovelocity), HKG1 Centenary Sprint Cup (2016 Aerovelocity), New Zealand Derby (1990 Surfers Paradise, 1993 Popsy), New Zealand Oaks (1994 Snap). Hong Kong Career Wins (as of 28 April): 334 (win strike rate: 8.71%)
Size, John
Age: 61. John Size was a top trainer in Sydney before his arrival in Hong Kong in 2001 with a reputation for improving and rekindling the spark in his horses. He broke the mould by winning the trainers' premiership in his very first season and has since increased that tally to seven (2001/02, 2002/03, 2003/04, 2005/06, 2007/08, 2009/10, 20011/12). He was level with Caspar Fownes at the end of 2013/14 with 62 wins apiece but Fownes won the title on count-back with one more second-place finisher. He has trained the winners of two Horse of the Year titles, the multiple HKG1 scorers Electronic Unicorn and Grand Delight. In 2009/10 he trained Brave Kid to equal the then record of six wins in a season and Entrapment who finally broke that record with seven victories in just five months. This term he has tasted G1 glory with Contentment in the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup, while Sun Jewellery won the HKG1 Hong Kong Classic Mile and HKG1 Hong Kong Classic Cup. Other notable wins include: Hong Kong Mile (2013 Glorious Days), AP QEII Cup (2004 River Dancer), Champions Mile (2003 Electronic Unicorn, 2009 Sight Winner), Hong Kong Derby (2012 Fay Fay, 2015 Luger), Stewards’ Cup (2003 Electronic Unicorn, 2004 Super Kid, 2007 Armada, 2013 Glorious Days), Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (2004 Electronic Unicorn), Champions & Chater Cup (2004 Super Kid), Centenary Sprint Cup (2003 Grand Delight), Chairman’s Sprint Prize (2003 Grand Delight), George Ryder Stakes (2000 Al Mansour), Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000 Georgie Boy), Galaxy Stakes (2001 Padstow). He currently leads the premiership. Hong Kong Career Wins (as of 28 April): 940 (win strike rate: 14%)
Tsui, Me
Age: 55. Me Tsui graduated from the HKJC Apprentice Jockeys' School and rode as a jockey between 1980 and 1986, partnering 21 winners in total. After working his way through the ranks as assistant trainer, latterly for Francis Lui, Tsui was granted his full trainer's licence in 2005 and has rapidly established himself as a force in the training ranks. He enjoyed his best season in 2007/08 with 51 victories, which put him 3rd in the trainers' premiership. The trainer's slightly unusual forename is an abbreviation of his nickname 'Amigo', which was considered too much of a mouthful at Jockeys' School and so shortened to 'Me', which has stuck ever since. Notable race wins include: HKG3 Bauhinia Sprint Trophy (2014 Divine Ten). Hong Kong Career Wins (as of 28 April): 378 (win strike rate: 6.91%)
