Benvenuto Cellini wins the Breeders' Cup Turf and is entered at the HKIR

Aidan O'Brien takes aim at HKIR in pursuit of setting a new G1 bar

Horse Racing

Wed November 04, 2026 · 2d ago

Benvenuto Cellini, Almaqam and Giavellotto are among a high-class UK and Irish entry for the 2026 LONGINES Hong Kong International Races at Sha Tin on December 13.

The trio headline a list of 31 individual horses from the UK and Ireland, including 14 individual Group 1 winners, entered across the four Group 1 International Races.

Aidan O’Brien – victorious in the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase with Highland Reel (2015 and 2017) and Mogul (2020) – has entered G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf conqueror Benvenuto Cellini, Minnie Hauk, Lambourn and Diamond Necklace for both the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup and LONGINES Hong Kong Vase. Queenstown is entered only in the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase.

O’Brien’s entries also include Puerto Rico and True Love in the LONGINES Hong Kong Mile. The Ballydoyle trainer's entries are particularly significant as he sits on 28 Group 1 winners for 2026, equal with his own record, so he could set a new bar at the HKIR.

Ryan Moore after his Breeders' Cup Turf win on Benvenuto Cellini

Aidan’s son, Joseph, who trained Galen to finish fourth in the 2025 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup, is slated to return to Sha Tin with the chestnut gelding, along with Bright Light, Goodie Two Shoes, James J Braddock, Omni Man, Sons And Lovers and Trustyourinstinct.

Group 1 winner Almaqam, winner of the 2026 G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh and second to Item in the 2026 G1 International Stakes at York, has become one of the world’s top middle-distance horses. Ed Walker’s star is expected to contest the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup, a race which will be without four-time winner (2022-2025) Romantic Warrior for the first time since 2021.

Giavellotto won the 2024 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase before finishing second to Sosie last year. Marco Botti has the well-travelled galloper mapped for a Sha Tin return this December after scoring at Group 2 level at Royal Ascot in June.

Charlie Appleby and Godolphin have Military Order entered in the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup. He will next race in the G1 Bahrain International Trophy on 13 November, along with fellow entrants Glacius and Wimbledon Hawkeye.

Roger Varian’s Enfjaar – third in the Caulfield Cup – is a LONGINES Hong Kong Vase possible after finishing 15th in the G1 Melbourne Cup.

Andrew Balding’s Group 1 winner Never So Brave features in the LONGINES Hong Kong Mile along with Royal Ascot Group 1 winner Docklands, who is also entered for the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup.

George Boughey has entered Survie for both the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup and LONGINES Hong Kong Vase, while Tuco Salamanca is the sole entry from the UK in the LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint.

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This year’s UK and Irish entry are set to take on a strong cohort of local horses, including the best horse in the world Ka Ying Rising, as well as high-class campaigners from Japan, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, the USA and the UAE.

Rated 135 at the top of the LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, dual Hong Kong Horse of the Year (2024/25 and 2025/26) Ka Ying Rising will aim to become the first three-time winner of the LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint following victories in 2024 and 2025. Both wins formed part of his incredible 21-race unbeaten streak – a period of his career which saw him set six course records at Sha Tin and win nine Group 1 races.

Six-time Group 1 winner Voyage Bubble – one of three Triple Crown winners in Hong Kong racing history – is a possible for the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup after winning the LONGINES Hong Kong Mile twice (2024 and 2025). The Deep Field gelding is entered for the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup, while 2026 Hong Kong Derby second Numbers has dual entries for the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase and LONGINES Hong Kong Cup.

My Wish became Hong Kong racing’s newest Group 1 winner when he won April’s G1 FWD Champions Mile. After finishing sixth in last year’s LONGINES Hong Kong Mile, he will aim to secure a seventh consecutive win in the race for the home side.

Dual Group 1-placed Galaxy Patch is aiming to capture an elusive top-level crown in the LONGINES Hong Kong Mile after finishing unplaced in two previous attempts.

While Hong Kong’s leading sprinters will try again to topple Ka Ying Rising, there is also a strong Japanese entry in the LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint. Recent G1 Sprinters Stakes winner Puro Magic may race in Hong Kong for the first time, while the next four home in the Sprinters Stakes – World’s End, Sound Moryana, Group 1 winner Star Anise and Red Mon Reve – also hold entries.

2026 G1 Yasuda Kinen winner Sixpence features in the LONGINES Hong Kong Mile entries as well as Embroidery, Admire Zoom and Ask Ikigomi.

Masquerade Ball finished second to Romantic Warrior in April’s G1 FWD QEII Cup (2000m) and was also second in the 2025 G1 Japan Cup (2400m) to Calandagan. Takahisa Tezuka’s Duramente colt is entered for the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup and LONGINES Hong Kong Vase. Group 1 winners Durezza, Urban Chic and 2026 G1 Kikuka Sho hero Going To Sky are also entered in the Vase.

Renowned for top-level successes aboard Eishin Preston at Sha Tin over 20 years ago as a jockey, Yuichi Fukunaga is looking to return as a trainer with G1 Tenno Sho Autumn second Nebra Disk entered for the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup.

Enfjaar is third as Kingswood wins the Caulfield Cup

Francis-Henri Graffard has a LONGINES Hong Kong Mile entry for three-year-old Erdenali, the winner of four races from five appearances, including the G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp ahead of Ten Bob Tony and Gstaad. The Aga Khan Studs-owned galloper next runs in the G1 Mile Championship at Kyoto on 22 November.

Several of the leading lights in Australian racing feature. Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott’s Sir Delius is nominated for the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup and LONGINES Hong Kong Vase, while Ciaron Maher’s Land Legend – raced by Hong Kong owner Boniface Ho – and the winner of October’s G1 Might And Power (Caulfield Stakes) in record time is nominated for both the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup and LONGINES Hong Kong Vase.

Kingswood exploded to a brilliant win in the 2026 G1 Caulfield Cup, and trainer Gavin Bedggood is looking to travel the grey to Hong Kong for the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase.