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2018 Longines Hong Kong International Races
Workout Photos

Persian Knight, Staphanos, and Fine Needle gallop past the Sha Tin video board on Saturday morning.

The Longines Hong Kong International Races will be run this Sunday afternoon at Sha Tin Racecourse. As usual, horses from Europe, Asia, and Australia ship in for the four Group 1 races, billed as the Turf World Championships, with the HK$28 million (about US$3.6 million) Hong Kong Cup the highlight of the afternoon, contested at 2000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles). Conditions were excellent during training hours Saturday, with cloudy skies and temperatures in the low 70's. Contenders used the 1 mile dirt track which is located inside the 1 3/16 mile turf course, as the turf was soft due to Friday's rains and was closed for training today.

• Entries for the 2018 Longines Hong Kong International Races
• 2018 Longines International Jockeys' Championship - Hong Kong-based Australian Silvestre de Sousa was the winner
• 2018 Workout photos from Friday - includes 12 of the horses for the four big races
• 2018 Workout photos from Wednesday - includes 17 of the horses for the four big races
• Free 2018 Form Guide - past performances for all four races in PDF format
• Results for the 2017 Longines Hong Kong International Races

Here are photos for 19 of the international horses out on the dirt track at Sha Tin on Saturday morning. Click the small photo to see a larger version.

Deirdre (Cup) galloped 1 1/2 miles under exercise rider Yuta Komiyama, who said, "As I walked on the turf course, it was quite hard. We need more rain. She is pretty fit, in better condition than she was in Dubai, which is a very good thing."

Staphanos (Cup) warmed up on the quarantine track and then cantered 1 mile on the dirt. Trainer Hideaki Fujiwara said: "He seems very relaxed and in great condition. He is a veteran at coming to Hong Kong, he seems to know exactly what is going on."

Sungrazer (Cup) warmed up on the quarantine track and then canrtered 1 1/2 miles on dirt. Assistant trainer Keiichi Asami said: "He is fit and race-ready."

Latrobe (Vase) cantered on the dirt track under exercise rider Martin Doran.

Lys Gracieux (Vase) warmed up on the quarantine track and then cantered 1 1/2 miles on dirt. Trainer Yoshito Yahagi said: "She has already reached the good condition we want so in order to keep her that way we brought her out today. Both horses are race ready."

Mirage Dancer (Vase) galloped on the dirt track.

Prince of Arran (Vase) galloped on the dirt track.

Red Verdon (Vase) put in a steady canter on the dirt track.

Rostropovich (Vase) cantered on the dirt track under exercise rider Patrick Gleeson. Aidan O'Brien's assistant Pat Keating said: "That's it, he's ready. I don't know if he can win, but he should go well."

Salouen (Vase) cantered on the dirt track under exercise rider Shawn Graham. Trainer Sylvester Kirk said: "No change in his condition which is really good. The ground will probably be quicker than ideal tomorrow but there's nothing we can do about that."

Waldgeist (Vase) cantered 2 miles on the dirt track under exercise rider Shawn Graham, quickening through the lane ending his final lap. Elisabeth Fabre, wife of trainer Andre Fabre, said: "It's pretty late for a horse like him to run in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, run in in the Arc, run in everything. Every time he has so much energy and a huge heart. It's easy to say it's late in the year but to me he still seems bright and well."

Beat the Bank (Mile) breezed on the dirt track under exercise rider Sandeep Gauravaram. Anna-Lisa Balding, wife of trainer Andrew Balding, said: "He again whipped round this morning but as I said yesterday if he didn't do something like that there would probably be something wrong. Anyhow his general condition is very good."

Comin' Through (Mile) galloped on the dirt track.

Inns of Court (Mile) cantered 2 miles, quickening second time around in company with Waldgeist (Vase). Elisabeth Fabre, wife of trainer Andre Fabre, said: "He's really well and has been a little unlucky to date but he is always there at the finish. He is drawn well, while the turf in Hong Kong is always perfect and suits everyone."

Mozu Ascot (Mile) warmed up on the quarantine track and then galloped 1 1/2 miles on the dirt track. Trainer Yoshito Yahagi said: "We pushed him a bit today so he knows he has a race tomorrow. He changed leads smoothly and I think he is primed for tomorrow."

One Master (Mile) galloped 1 mile under exercise rider Alex Badri. Trainer William Haggas said: "Everything has gone well this week. We'll see what tomorrow brings."

Persian Knight (Mile) warmed up on the quarantine track and then galloped 1 mile on the dirt track. Work rider Yuki Iwasaki said: "He has been in good order. He goes into the race a fit horse."

Vivlos (Mile) warmed up on the quarantine track and then galloped 1 mile on the dirt track. Trainer Yasuo Tomomichi: "She is relaxed and focused. Just the way I want her."

Fine Needle (Sprint) cantered 1 mile. Exercise rider Yoshinori Unoki said: "He stretched his legs to loosen up and to keep his condition good. Yesterday we weighed him and found he has not lost weight, or rather his condition has to be better than when he ran in the spring and in the Sprinters Stakes. He has great speed and the surface should suit – he can also handle the softer track. Hopefully he will take a position from which he can run his race."