History-making jockey Saffie Osborne is set for a winter spell in Hong Kong having featured among four international riders joining the ranks later this year.
Osborne became the first female to ride a winner of one of the British Classics when guiding the Joseph O'Brien-trained Highwayman to victory in this month's Betfred St Leger and she is excited about her first venture to experience the thrills of Sha Tin and Happy Valley.
Osborne is to be joined on the Hong Kong Jockey Club roster on a short-term basis by Dylan Browne McMonagle, Rossa Ryan and French ace Maxime Guyon.
She told the HKJC: "It’s a real honour to have been invited, and I’m really looking forward to it.
“I’ve watched a huge amount of racing in Hong Kong. It’s something that, over here, we will follow very closely, and it’s somewhere I’ve always dreamed of being able to go and ride. To be able to go and do that this winter is really special.
“I’ve been very lucky to ride in lots of different countries, and I think each place you go, you learn new things, and it makes you a better jockey. But obviously I would love to bang in a few winners.
“I’m just really excited to experience the atmosphere. I’ve never been to Hong Kong, but the atmosphere at the races looks incredible.”
The riders enter the Hong Kong campaign at its most thrilling period, with Osborne, Guyon and Ryan eligible to participate in LONGINES Hong Kong International Races week, which kicks off with the LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship on Wednesday December 9 at Happy Valley.
Andrew Harding, Executive Director, Racing, The Hong Kong Jockey Club, said: “Hong Kong’s jockey ranks are among the strongest in world racing and the arrival of Saffie, Maxime, Dylan and Rossa this winter underlines how highly regarded our racing is internationally.
"Between them, they bring a British Classic, a Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and multiple championship titles, and each has earned this opportunity through outstanding achievement at the highest level."
Frenchman Guyon is a superstar of world racing. He has ridden almost 3,400 winners – including 58 Group 1 victories – during a glittering 21-year career in the saddle. He will ride in Hong Kong between Wednesday December 2 and Monday February 8.
The four-time French Champion Jockey has extensive international experience, including in Hong Kong, where he rode 15 winners last season and has become a familiar face to racing fans. He partnered Ambitious Dragon to Hong Kong Derby and Hong Kong Classic Cup success in 2011 and has been a regular visitor since. He has won the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase three times aboard Flintshire (2014), Junko (2023) and Sosie (2025).
“I’m lucky because I’ve won some good races in Hong Kong,” Guyon said. “I love to ride in Hong Kong because it’s a very good place to be a jockey. The racing is very good there.
“If I can win any big races – a Group 1 or something, it’s very important for me. If I can ride between 10 and 20 winners over the winter there, it’s really good.”
At 23, Browne McMonagle is one of the most exciting prospects in world racing. Already an Irish Champion Jockey, the Donegal native has begun racking up global Group 1 crowns in Ireland, Great Britain, the United States, France and Germany, the latest of which was a G1 Irish Oaks victory at the Curragh aboard Johanna Walsh for trainer Joseph O’Brien in July.
He enjoyed a fruitful stint in Hong Kong last season, slotting 10 wins. Alongside Osborne, he was also part of the Great Britain & Ireland team that triumphed at this year’s Shergar Cup. He will compete in Hong Kong from Wednesday January 6 to Sunday February 28.
2024 G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe-winning rider Ryan brings a wealth of international experience to Hong Kong between Wednesday, 2 December 2026 and Sunday, 28 February 2027 (excluding the Saturday, 26 December meeting). The Irishman is a five-time Group 1 winner, listing the G1 July Cup at Newmarket, the G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar and the G1 Prix Vermeille at ParisLongchamp among his international highlights.
The 26-year-old, a former British All-Weather Champion Jockey, can boast a record featuring 1,201 career wins at a strike rate of 15%. He is well known for his association with leading Juddmonte-owned filly Bluestocking, with whom he claimed prizemoney totalling £3.24 million (approx. HK$33.96 million).
“It’s definitely an adventure I’m excited to get on,” Ryan said. “I’m kind of at that stage now where I like to hope I’m ready and I know how to hold my own. I’m ready for the next chapter, you could say.
“It’s all about learning the other jockeys’ characters and how they ride, and what could be the best way of beating them. But also for me, going to Hong Kong this winter, it’s the first time since I started riding where I can actually go somewhere and focus on my weight and my fitness. I can enjoy it and try to do as well as I can,” he added.
Hong Kong racing returns on Sunday with an 11-race card at Sha Tin, featuring the Group 3 Celebration Cup Handicap.
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