At one time – say 40 years ago – European castoffs rated 80 to 100 often made their way to Hong Kong to continue their racing careers in that gambling-friendly locale. With the passage of time, the Hong Kong Jockey Club pursued excellence in a single-minded way and succeeded in raising the profile of racing in Hong Kong to international levels. Now some of the world's top gallopers reside there.

One of the innovations that the HKJC instituted in its quest for excellence was the establishment of a series of four international feature races on turf. All are Group 1s, sponsored by Longines, run at Hong Kong's Sha Tin racecourse in December and are contested over the major distances, namely 1200m., 1600 m., 2000 m. and 2400 m. Last year a record crowd of 100,710 crossed the turnstiles on this day and ploughed HK$1.518 billion (Rs.1,250 crores) through the totalizator!

This year, the big afternoon falls on Sunday, December 10^th. As has become the norm, the international proceedings commence with the Longines Hong Kong Vase (2400 m.), which has drawn a field of a round dozen, only three of which represent the home team. Due off at 2:00 p.m. local (11:30 a.m. IST), the HK$18 million (Rs.14.8 crores) event sees the swan song of that noble warrior, Highland Reel (by Galileo), winner of this race for Coolmore in 2015. Having been narrowly beaten into second last year, he has notions of revenge on his mind and the Aidan O'Brien pupil, with Ryan Moore in the saddle, should be right there at the finish.

Drawn on the rail is Highland Reel’s recent conqueror when the pair last met half a world away at Del Mar, USA, in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, namely Godolphin’s Talismanic (by Medaglia D’Oro). Guided on this occasion by Maxime Guyon, trainer Andre Fabre’s ward will not go down without a fight. He is so consistent that one has to go back eight starts, to last year’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, to find an unplaced effort from him. The other French hope, son of a teaser in Tiberius Caesar, is Tiberian, who has taken an altogether different route – he was seventh in the Melbourne Cup in Australia last time out. He is not without hope in the silken hands of Olivier Peslier.

Third in the last-named event was an Irish trainee, Max Dynamite (by Great Journey), who hails from the yard of Willie Mullins, better known for his jumpers. Australian ace Glyn Schofield assumes charge on the solid stayer. Japanese horses have a decent enough record at this meeting and are double handed here with Kiseki (by Rulership) and Tosen Basil (by Harbinger). The best of the home team are Eagle Way (by More Than Ready) and Gold Mount, a rare staying son of Excellent Art.

Forty minutes later, the speedy sorts will be put through their paces over half the trip of the previous race, i.e. 1200 m., in the Longines Hong Kong Sprint (HK$18.5 million). Peniaphobia (by Dandy Man) has been a regular starter in this race, scoring in 2015 and being placed last year but has been out of sorts in 2017 and is friendless here. More surprising is the 33 to 1 quote given to recent Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Stormy Liberal (by Stormy Atlantic), perhaps because he is drawn wide in 11 (of 13) and Silvestre de Sousa will have a real task to get a good position on Peter Miller’s ward.

Local hope Mr. Stunning (by Exceed And Excel) and Lucky Bubbles (by Sebring) are ideally drawn to prevail and the latter can oblige, given that he is to be ridden by the man who can do little wrong at this moment, namely Hugh Bowman, regular partner of the all-conquering Winx in Australia – not to forget his brilliant sideshow in Japan last month when he guided Cheval Grand home.

At 3:50 p.m. local (1:20 p.m. IST), a capacity field of 14 will tackle the 1600 m. Longines Hong Kong Mile (HK$23 million), where the foreign raiders and local hopes are evenly matched. The highest-rated runner is the Tony Cruz-schooled Beauty Only (by Holy Roman Emperor), with regular rider Zac Purton up, and only a little behind him is Satono Alladin (by Deep Impact) from Japan. Next comes Helene Paragon (by Polan), another HK-trained participant.

The most successful trainer of 2017 at the highest level is Ireland’s Aidan O'Brien and he has a two-pronged attack on this prize. Group 1 honours are overdue for Lancaster Bomber (by War Front), whose dam was once in India, and he will have the services of Ryan Moore. The hitherto luckless sort will be accompanied by stablemate Roly Poly (also by War Front), with the ever-reliable Seamie Heffernan at the controls. Fans of rank outsiders can take a peek at Karar (by Invincible Spirit) and Lightning Spear (by Pivotal), both representing Qatari interests.

Although two handicaps will remain to be run, the grand finale of the international programme is the HK$25 million Longines Hong Kong Cup (2000 m.), to be flagged off at 4:30 p.m. local (2 p.m. IST). Twelve of the best 10 furlongs turf specialists will vie for honours. The rock solid Kiwi-bred Werther (by Tavistock), whose permanent quarters are a short walk from the winning post, is a warm fancy here. John Moore has a worthy contender in the shape of this consistent gelding, whom Tommy Berry will steer.

Last year despite having Ryan Moore up, the Japanese ace Neorealism (by Neo Universe) fluffed his lines. He returns for another fling of the dice, this time with Joao Moreira up. Moore instead is astride the Ballydoyle-trained Deauville (by Galileo), who exits a disappointing appearance at Woodbine in Canada. Of the Europeans, make a note of Poet’s Word (by Poet’s Voice), sent out to the Orient by Sir Michael Stoute, a shrewd judge of form. The four-year-old has not been out of 1-2 in 2017 and shapes as an excellent “each way” prospect as does Hong Kong’s Time Warp (by Archipenko).